


Stand Still [To Be Rewritten]

by samoyedpup



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol, Ancient History, Angst, Anxiety, Autism Spectrum, Backstory, Because of Reasons, Bullying, Criminal Justice Themes, Dadster, Dates, Depression, Don't get attached to anyone either, F/F, F/M, Fate is clueless, Flashbacks, Flowey is done with all this shit, Fluff, Foreshadowing, Fuck the Police, Graphic Description, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, I love these children and they love each other, LGBTQ Characters, M/M, Mentions of Suicide, Minor Character Death, Multiverse Theory, Murder, Never trust anyone, No one is who they seem, Other, Past Child Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Pregnancy, Prophecy, Racism, Science, Selectively Mute Frisk, Singing, Smoking, Swearing, Tags Contain Spoilers, Teens being teens, Time Travel, Time and space, Toby knows what he's doing, Transphobia, Trauma, Triggers, Video & Computer Games, Wow this got dark quickly, YouTube, everyone is a mess, except it isn't a theory, lab work, lots of love, references, the birds and the bees
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-02-02 21:26:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 96,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12734604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samoyedpup/pseuds/samoyedpup
Summary: There is beauty in chaos.Ebott tended to live in its own little world where the unacceptable was accepted, and where there was no black and white. After all, Monsters rose from underneath the ground after generations of being trapped in Mt. Ebott, and they were made of magic and dust. If you told someone that Ebott had been created from chaos, they would believe it. They would know that chaos burned like a wildfire in the very depths of the people there.In fact, chaos was a friend. Chaos lined the universe, and it was a fantastically beautiful mess.The world was a lonely place after nearly three years passing by without Ebott being complete, however. With the Abaddon no longer existing as a place, but instead as loyal and wandering subjects, it has been a dangerous place since. But no one has budged. They feared the quiet that formed in their surroundings and were further terrified of the silence that bred in their minds.But they couldn't attempt to fix themselves when they couldn't even find the broken piece, and that brings them to a stand still.Not for long, though.[Arc l: 1-10][Arc ll: 11-18][Arc lll: 19-24][Arc IV: ???]





	1. Day 1014

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the sequel of Unpainted Fate! I'm so excited for this, honestly, I could never stop writing this series... I'm not sure where the journey will go from here despite my ideas, but hey, we'll take it together!
> 
> [If you haven't read Unpainted Fate, go do that now!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the beginning again.

7:40 A.M., September 26th, 20YZ

Rovia turned the radio up, the highway yawning wide before him with only a light smattering of traffic. He needed at least ten minutes to organize his office, and there was a meeting at nine, and not being on time was going to upset his group considering that  **he** called for this meeting anyways.

Finally, the station rose up to the right of him, and he took a deep breath, flicking on his turn signal and pulling into the parking lot--into his usual spot. It had been his spot for many years now, but he groaned upon realizing that Craig had pulled in too close on his left, so he had to climb into the passenger’s seat and exist out that way. It didn’t help that the recognized the annoying car in his rearview mirror, and then caught sight of the idiot who owned it, standing right by the doors of the station.

He would never get a break, no matter how many years passed by…

Climbing out of his car, Rovia stormed right past the man, paying him no attention as he entered the building, but then the damned guy just followed him right on in.

“Get away from me, Scatt.” Rovia warned, but Scatt Murray continued to follow him anyways. Quietly, with loud footsteps, and not stopping no matter how many odd looks he got from people who greeted Rovia a good morning.

“I only want five minutes.” Scatt finally spoke up, but Rovia shook his head.

“I want a wife. We all want things, Scatty, but they don’t necessarily happen.” Rovia responded sarcastically, walking into his office and planning to shut the door behind him, but Scatt rammed into it, not holding back fro what he wanted to say. Rovia scowled, but then took a seat, leaning forward on his desk. “You have five minutes, no more. Close the door behind you.”

Scatt did just that, immediately rushing over and sitting down, getting right to the point.

“I talked to an ex-employee here, whose daughter said that she walked past a house and some kid, younger than her, was making a toy spaceship fly  **with her mind** .” Scatt explained, leaning forward in a way that he looked like he was reporting news and really needed to sell it.

“I heard that story.” Rovia insisted with a shrug, leaning back as if he was bored. He kind of was. “Have you ever heard the one about the fat man with the beard who climbs down chimneys and eats every cookie in the house before leaving behind some presents that the kids may or may not like?”

Scatt rolled his eyes and scoffed, and Rovia rolled his eyes in return.

“Three years ago, a bunch of kids went missing at the same time, then returned at the same time with  **your** people. Last year, a co-worker of Toriel Dreemurr’s claimed that some kid two years ago kidnapped all the kids, and then gave them back when she had no use for them anymore. Any thoughts?” Scatt questioned, and Rovia leaned forward a bit with a slow nod.

“Yah…” Rovia responded, and Scatt’s face lit up for a moment before Rovia responded. “You’re insane, and my police force merely found the kids--who are all still friends--out in the woods simply playing games in the “Haunted House” that was torn down because of a dare.”

Scatt paused, and then he scowled, leaning on Rovia's desk.

“This is serious, Rovia.” Scatt insisted, but Rovia gave a shrug.

“There’s no proof.” Rovia stated simply, and Scatt’s face fell at that realization.

He then stood up, bowed a little in thanks for Rovia’s time, and took off, closing the office door behind him. Rovia breathed in deeply, and then leaned back in his chair, checking his watch. It was only eight. He still had time to himself for a bit, but he couldn’t quite enjoy it now.

Scatt was too smart for his own good.

 

* * *

 

 

5:19 P.M., September 26th, 20YZ

Chara sat on Frisk’s bed, walkie-talkie in their hands and their mind wandering as far as it could go. It had been three years, but still, they lifted the walkie-talkie up to their mouth, leaning against the wall.

“Hey, Fate. It’s Chara, again.” They spoke, pausing for a moment to see if there was a response, but continuing when nothing came. “It’s day 1014, 5:19 P.M… 1014 already. It’s nearly been three years, you know? … I’m still here.” Another pause, a little longer that time. “... Give me a sign, little sister, please… I know that you have to be out there, somewhere. There’s no way you’re… gone…”

Chara waited, and waited, and waited… but nothing came except for static, so they angrily threw the walkie-talkie down and walked away, slamming the bedroom door behind them. They wanted to scream, they wanted to cry, but they decided to just go down to the basement and read something, Ebony coming and curling up in their lap. She had gotten bigger and fluffier, but sadder since Fate had left.

They didn’t listen to anything the moment they slammed the door, thinking they were crazy. Maybe they were out of their goddamn mind… but they would continue to reach out every single until until the day they died, or the day they stopped believing that Fate was out their somewhere. She was still out there, they believed that.

She just couldn’t respond for some reason, so they would wait until she could.

 

* * *

 

 

10:15 P.M., September 26th, 20YZ

Softly splashing water droplets hit the car windows as Craig drove onward, Marcel in the seat beside him. The sky was overhung with a blanket of gray, so much so that he could barely tell the difference between the sky and the clouds. Despite car rides feeling tedious to both of them, the rain commonly calmed them as they watched raindrops race down to the windows, the occasional wave of a puddle sometimes being excited to them, but they’d rather be outside in those puddles than stuck in the car. They couldn’t step out, though. They were already late.

Pulling into the woods between Ebott and the vast wilderness around it, Craig drove between trees until the car was hidden, and then Craig shut it down, and the pair of men got out. Walking through the trees in the darkness was fairly hard, but not too hard with a single, bright flashlight in Craig’s grasp as he took the lead, wading through the falling leaves carefully.

Coming upon some tripwire, he stepped right over it, helping Marcel over before he turned off the flashlight, both of them approaching the cabin ahead, barely lit up for them to approach it. They still did, however, and Marcel lifted his fist, knocking in a rhythm.

**Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock.**

There was a pause, and then the lock clicked, allowing them both in. This was their new home, judging by how cozy it was inside and how easily they relaxed once inside. The TV was running, a couple of books out of the bookcase and on the small coffee table, and ready-to-eat dinner packets were set on the dining room table, some ready-to-eat chicken nuggets having already been bitten into. Craig sighed as Marcel turned off the TV and put back the books that hadn’t been touched before grabbing three cans of pepsi from the fridge as Craig took a seat, starting to roll up his long sleeves.

“Hey.” Craig called down the hall, bringing small footsteps from such. “You know what we talked about, kiddo.”

As Marcel took a seat, the small footsteps stopped, and a small voice took over.

“It’s 10:15 Post Meridiem. You’re late.” The voice reminded both of them, as Marcel only snorted at Craig’s eye roll and heavier sigh as he leaned forward against the dining room table.

“Yah, we lost track of time. Things are still busy, you know? We’ll radio next time. And, uh… you can just say 10:15 P.M., or in the evening if you gotta.” Craig told the owner of the small voice, and then the small body sat next to Marcel, across the table from Craig.

“10:15 in the evening.” Fate repeated, her paws palm-down on the table so Craig could see that they were clean. Her overalls were slightly big on her, but she made up for them with a slightly baggy sweatshirt and the legs rolled up a couple of times at the end. Her fur was longer, but well taken care off, and she had grown to a steady height of two feet and eleven inches.

“What did we talk about?” Craig asked, slowly pulling the tinfoil off of his food. Marcel and Fate followed, although Fate sighed a bit from the question. “Dinner before dessert.”

If chicken nuggets were considered dessert, then she was sorry, and she nodded to show that.

Then, they all ate the heated ready-to-eat food, quietly chatting amongst themselves about how the day had gone.

It was day 1014, after all, and Ebott was a big type of small town.


	2. Don't Thank Me Yet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's October, my dudes. That means Thanksgiving, and then Halloweenie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first bit of this story is gonna be Fate and her caretakers, and the Dreemurr's (mostly Chara) without her, but I will get around to how everyone else is doing, such as Destiny, Adar, Danny, etc.

_ Unknown Time, Christmas Day, 20ZS _

_ Stepping into the forest robbed her of one sense and heightened the others. It was disorientation to be almost blinded, but given the ears of a wolf. Even the soft susurration of the branches felt heavy on the ears. The sense of smell was sensitized, the loam in the Earth and decomposing leaves making the atmosphere close and thick. The blackness nurtured a sense of claustrophobia inside her, even though the woodland stretched unbroken for miles, and she had underestimated the utter darkness of nighttime in the woods. _

_ And then, there was the snow. _

_ The forest was covered in a thick blanket of white, looking like an unfinished painting. So much of the canvas was still perfectly white, as if waiting for the artists hand to return, and the air was, of course, cold. The wind howled, piling up snow in drifts and blinding the night with ice-white dust, so she walked bent over against the cold, protecting her eyes with her little arms. Her breath was pale against the numbing air, the frost patiently sticking into her fur, and she could only think that it was softer than the kisses Toriel would plant on her forehead every day before school. _

_ But it was just as cold as the memories had turned. _

_ She would rather be trodding under this pristine layer of crystalline water that was a path with her siblings, arms wrapped around Flowey’s pot as he complained and hissed over how cold it was. She wanted to turn the pages back and dwell on the fine details: how Frisk always wore rubber boots with four layers of socks rather than buy actual winter boots, how neither of them never got too old to splash in the puddles that were barely turned to ice yet--but life was pulling her forward into the unknown with one hand and trying to erase her past with the other. _

_ Her thoughts would always be thicker than the blizzard. _

_ Rushing through the snow, however, she couldn’t find one damn thing or any people at all. It didn’t matter how far she went or how loud she screamed the names she could remember, even if she didn’t like the person just because she didn’t want to be alone--she hated being alone--because there was no response. The tears burst forth like water from a dam before she could stop them, spilling down her face. She felt the muscles of her chin trembling like the small child she was and she continued to look forward, as if the snow could soothe her. There was static in her head, the side effect of the constant fear she was feeling, and she could hear her own sounds, like the distressed child she was, raw from the inside. It took something out of her she didn’t know she had left to give. _

_ She couldn’t go home, though. She didn’t know how to get out of the woods, and she was sure that she wouldn’t get very far if anyone saw her anyways. _

_ So she just kept going, no matter how tired or hungry she was. _

 

* * *

7:30 A.M., October 1st, 20YZ

Craig pushed the scrambled eggs around in the pan, waiting for them to fry up a little more, and quickly moved back to the pancakes despite the bacon sizzling and popping at him. After flipping the pancakes over, he tended to the bacon, which was pretty much ready. He took a moment, watching over the breakfast, and then grabbed three plates before Marcel came through to grab three glasses from the cupboard and the jug of orange juice from the fridge, giggling at something.

Craig didn’t figure out what until he looked over his shoulder to ask, only to jump because of the young girl wearing a sheet with only two holes for her eyes to see out. Marcel tried his best not to break down into laughter over the scared groan Craig had let out when he jumped, and was able to because his friend immediately turned off the stove, starting to distribute breakfast amongst the three plates.

“Jesus Christ, kid.” Craig complained, simply dumping the pans into the sink to wash later. He kept the one that he made the bacon in facing up, because grease down the drain was never a good thing for your sink and he had learned that the hard way.

“Ghost.” Fate simply stated, not moving from her spot and only turning when Craig brought the three plates to the dining room table, sitting down. “Halloween.”

“It’s not even Thanksgiving yet.” Craig insisted, motioning for Fate to sit down, and with a frown, she pulled off the sheet, set it aside, and took her usual seat.

“Thanksgiving?” She questioned curiously, and Craig exchanged a look with Marcel, who only shrugged in response before Craig looked back at the young girl.

“Yah, y’know… October ninth, you sit around the table with family and eat good food and say what your thankful for.  **Then** , we get to celebrating Halloween.” Craig explained, but Fate only stared, shaking her head a bit and causing her ears to flap with the movement. “... Monsters don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, do they?” Fate gave a shrug, and Craig returned it with a sigh. “Tell you what? I’ll bring back a bunch of good food on the ninth, we’ll sit down, we’ll do some Thanksgiving traditions. Then, that night, we can start setting up for Halloween.”

There was a pause, and then Fate smiled, nodding a bit in agreement before grabbing her fork, starting to eat. Craig followed, angry that Marcel had already eaten at least half of his plate, and wondered how this conversation only came up now even though it had been three years. Then he realized that Fate had been talking about Halloween for a reason.

“The answer is no, by the way.” He told her, and her head snapped up, face falling as she looked at her ghost sheet.

“But… ghost!” She insisted, and Craig shook his head, causing her to frown. “But, trick-or-treat!”

“You go out there… that’s a risk.” Craig stated, and that caused Fate to go quiet, sitting back in her seat and stabbing at her eggs repeatedly, but not eating them. The silence caused Craig to sigh, hating how much of a grip this kid had on him because she reminded him so much of his little sister. “Alright, let’s compromise.” Fate brightened up a bit. “I’ll buy us all boxes of candy, ones to ourselves, and we’ll all sit around on Halloween and watch scary movies and get fat.”

“... Okay.” Fate agreed with another happy smile, leaning forward and starting to eat again. Marcel put down his glass of orange juice, just having swallowed a sip, and stared at his plate for a moment before looking up at Craig with a small grin.

“... We’re gonna get fat?” He asked, and Craig looked back at him with a very serious expression.

“ **Super** fat--the fattest of fat.”

 

* * *

_ Unknown Time, The Woods, January 21st, 20ZR _

_ When the last sunrays of the day disappeared, when the greens and purples melted into gray under the moonlight, that’s when the warren emptied and the rabbits came out to forage and play. The moved slowly, lolloping in their ungainly way, grazing as they went. At the slightest noise, they’re up on their hind legs, black eyes staring in more directions than predators could. _

_ Fate liked to watch them sometimes. Just because she needed to eat, that didn’t mean that she didn’t appreciate nature. _

_ Then, she took aim, using her magic to throw one of the rabbits so hard into the trunk of a tree that its neck would break. The rest of them scattered after that and she didn’t have the patience to stick around for more. She would make a campfire after that, having learned to do so in the summer on the stupid camping trip she would give anything to do all over again. _

_ The heat of the campfire struggling to penetrate the wintry air, so she sat as close as she dared to feel the radiating warmth, holding out her numbed paws for defrosting. Sparks flew into the cold air, only to die mid-flight and fall unnoticed as a blackened charcoal speck. She added as much wood as she could find and poked it with a stick, but it seemed to die a little as if unsure of itself, unready to devour the new offerings. It licked at the new logs like a nervous kitten, but after a minute or so, it found its confidence and grew until the heat could warm her and effectively cook the rabbit so she wouldn’t get sick. _

_ It never tasted all too good, as she would burn it and cry over the fact that she had to kill just to eat now, but it was food. She made it work, and she kept warm with campfires and sleeping in the middle of trees, where the wind was mellow and the branches were just right for her size. _

 

* * *

5:18 P.M., October 9th, 20YZ

Fate wanted to spit at the TV. The Thanksgiving adverts made her want to because they we're all about perfects families, perfect turkeys, and people just lived on steroids in those worlds. It was all about the napkins, the appetizers, and the right choice of wine, but this Thanksgiving she’d just be living it up with whatever Craig and Marcel would be bringing back after work, which would be anywhere between now and 7:30. She hated the commercials because there was always a perfect turkey, some perfect stuffing, and even some perfect roast potatoes, and not even mentioning the perfect family that all came together and were thankful for each other, their home, and the food they ate. All of them sitting around the table, together and thanking whichever God they believed in, it was just… bullshit to her.

Family was hard to bring together. She knew that more than a lot of people.

Turning off the TV, she breathed in, her ear flicking a bit as she heard her walkie talkie beeping from beside her. It wasn’t Craig and Marcel, though.

It was Chara.

“ _ Hey, Fate. It’s Chara, again. Today is day 1027, it’s 5:20 P.M.… In two months and nine days, it’ll have been three years since you disappeared. _ ” They spoke, their voice crackling through the walkie talkie. She hated this, being able to hear her sibling in so much pain, but not being able to responded. “ _ This is the most math I’ve done in a long time… You’d be graduating elementary next year. It sounds exciting, but honestly, high school sucks. There’s so much crap, more than in elementary. _ ”

There was a pause, and Fate covered her eyes with her paws, listening to the static of the TV and the walkie talkie.

In moments, she was staring ahead, her sibling the only color other than her in the void of her mind. It was still the same: the ground was wet, the surroundings were dark, and voices echoed. She was able to walk towards Chara, being so close and yet knowing that she was so far, and being upset over the fact that Chara always did this on her bed, which she assumed belonged to Frisk again. She had gotten so good at this, and yet… she didn’t really care, because no one but Craig and Marcel knew.

“ _ I wish you were here. Halloween isn’t going to be the same without you, and I’m not sure what to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. _ ” Chara brought up, and Fate took a seat beside her sibling, feeling the soft covers of her bed that hadn’t been removed. It just made her feel worse. “ _ Thanksgiving is this thing… this  _ **_stupid_ ** _ thing where family sits around a table and eats good food and we all talk about what we’re thankful for. I’m really only thankful that Mom--Toriel--had been working so hard since she got home to cook. She’s making beef stew, and a turkey obviously. Mashed potatoes… onion rings, which I like to think is in honor of you. _ ”

Chara had kept their hair the same, I they hadn’t grown much taller, which Fate could understand on a physical and mental level. It sucked being shorter than many people around you.

“ _ I guess I haven’t really talked about life much. I’ve just… been reaching out. _ ” Chara sighed, leaning against the wall that Fate couldn’t see, but knew was there. “ _... That little one that escaped the Abaddon with us? She’s been living with Cathy and her younger brothers. They just kinda clicked, y’know? She’s doing well, and she’s taken a liking to a name Destiny actually suggested, which is Abygale. He has two older siblings, Gale and Abby, and he just kinda combined their names. She really likes it and she’s been using it. She didn’t have a name before… _ ”

Chara leaned forward, right into the walkie talkie.

“ _... The Abaddon is gone. It’s not a place anymore, or really an organization, it’s just… whoever decided that they don’t have any life to end up in, so they keep working or whatever. A lot of them are in prison now, though. _ ” Chara explained before smiling a bit. “ _ But, you know, that’s just stuff. You should see it--Frisk is taller than me now. And Ebony? She’s grown into a cat, and she’s  _ **_so_ ** _ fluffy! Everyone is doing really great. _ ”

There was another pause.

“ _... But, it would be better with you. _ ”

Then, they put down the walkie talkie, just sitting there for a moment. Fate knew that she couldn’t reach out. It was against the rules, and she had to stay away for now or they could end up in danger. She should’ve stayed away in the first place, but… she just couldn’t think of a life without all those memories.

Chara left soon after, and Fate was alone, so she pulled her opened her eyes back in reality, pulling her paws away from her face. Her nose was bleeding from one nostril, something that she couldn’t stop because her magic was still too small for all of her magic, and she was crying, another thing that she couldn’t stop no matter how many days she spent living to Chara. It was just one day after another and after another… She was twelve now, and Chara was fifteen. She hated thinking about it. She hated not knowing and not seeing everyone nearly every single day for school or simply for hanging out.

She looked up at the clock when she was ready, noticing that it was now six, and her ears twitched from hearing footsteps coming up the front porch. She wiped and rubbed at her face, getting rid of the tears and snot and blood, and then listened for the rhythmic knock.

**Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock.**

She unlocked the door with her magic and switched the TV to some random commercial while the two men stumbled into the home, arms full of groceries. She switched it off when they hung up their coats, turning to look at them, and Marcel smiled back while Craig went to put the groceries away.

“We brought back the good stuff!” He insisted before rushing off to grab plates and go through the bags of food, and she sat at the table to wait.

Before long, they were all sitting around the table with the same things on their plates--a warm chicken caesar wrap, some onion rings, and some fries. They each had a hot chocolate and, as per usual, Craig had warmed up some ready-to-eat chicken nuggets for Fate if she finished her plate, which she appreciated for.

“Start us off, Marcel.” Craig insisted, busy rolling up his sleeves, and Marcel gave him a weird look. Craig blinked at him, and then sighed, rolling his eyes. “What’re you thankful for?” Marcel got it just then, his mouth turning into an “O” shape, and then he thought for a moment.

“Well, uh… I dunno.” He started off, seeming to have to really think. Fate didn’t know if he was just playing or really thinking. “I mean… my parents are still alive and still care although I’m living with the both of you, which is actually really fun. I have a legitimate job now instead of just sitting behind a computer screen or a phone and waiting for Rovia to need something… and you cook most of the time, so it’s like I have my own personal maid.”

Craig punched Marcel’s arm on that last one, causing the african american man to squeak a bit from the harsh impact, but then Marcel slapped Craig’s hand in return as if to say “well, what about you”. Craig had to think for a moment, and then spoke up.

“I’m living. I’m safe. I have friends, which is very odd, but I’ve gotten used to it.” Craig started with a slight shrug, watching as Marcel nodded his head excitedly. Craig wasn’t usually sentimental, so Fate could understand Marcel’s excitement. “And, uh… I have legit jobs, like an officer and working in the lab, and being a part-time babysitter.” Fate rolled her eyes at that. “I dunno, really. I just like life. I’m not sure if I’d call that thankful, but it’s something I haven’t enjoyed since I was ten, so…”

There was a pause, and then they both looked at Fate. What Chara said was still fresh in her mind, and she shrugged a bit while trying to think of what she could be thankful for.

“... Home…” She stated simply, and softly, with the ghost of a smile playing at her lips. “This one, and the one that stills remembers me, even after nearly three years.”

There was a long silence after that, and then Marcel brok it with a simple “Amen”, in which they all started to eat. It wasn’t the most elegant Thanksgiving, but it was certainly something.

At least Fate felt like she could try to be like those perfect families on TV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love my children.


	3. Day 1050

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's day 1050, and Fate has lost her patience.
> 
> Also: Hi, Gaster. Welcome back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *frustrated and tired screaming*

_ Unknown Time, The Woods, January 31st, 20ZR _

_ If there was one person Fate never thought she would come across in the woods, leaving onion rings and chicken nuggets mysteriously in the well, it would have to be Craig Khourey. Marcel Finnian-Constendell she could see coming out here every month to mysteriously leave two of her favorite foods in an abandoned well, but Craig? She didn’t think that he could care about her that much, if at all. _

_ The two men had rosey cheeks from the cold, dressed in warm coats and gloves and scarves and beanies… and yet, they came to leave some food behind, which she could safely assume was for her. Whether they believed she was alive or if it was simply a tribute, she wasn’t too sure… but she wanted to find out. _

_ They put the wood on top of the well again, prepared to leave, but she purposely stepped on a branch, hearing it snap loudly under her little feet with frozen toes. They immediately snapped around Craig reaching for his gun, but she wasn’t worried that he would pull it on her, not with that shocked lock they both gave her despite barely seeing her. She was hiding halfway behind a tree, unsure of how they would react, after all. _

_ Craig immediately came forward, slowly but surely, and she took in his features. His hair was fading from that odd aqua or turquoise color to blonde before back to the light brown curls his hair originally was, but she was sure that he’d get it dyed again before to much longer. His skin was pale, but his cheeks and nose were pink--turning red--from the cold weather, and his breath came out much heavier than hers. He kneeled down anyways, wanting to get as close to her height as possible, and then stared for a moment before speaking. _

_ “... Have you been out here this whole time?” He questioned softly, uncharacteristic for him, but she nodded a little bit anyways. She could feel the tears building up in her eyes from the familiar voice, having missed careful and quiet conversation like this so much more than she had realized. _

_ Before another minute could pass, Craig was removing his first layer and wrapping his huge winter coat around her tiny figure, rubbing her arms gently to get her warm. She appreciated it much more than she initially thought, and only stood away for a minute before breaking down into tears and leaning into him, enjoying every bit of the warmth he had to offer. He didn’t mind like she thought he would, but instead wrapped his arms around her, hoisting her up off of the ground carefully and starting to follow carefully behind Marcel back to the comfort of their police car. _

_ She was handed over to Marcel once he got in and buckled up, and Craig rushed into the driver’s seat, taking off without even buckling up his seatbelt. _

 

* * *

 

 

7:13 A.M., November 1st, 20YZ

“It’s day 1050.”

Craig and Marcel didn’t understand what Fate meant by that when she was eating breakfast--or what she was doing by drowning her two Eggo waffles in syrup, whipped cream, and chocolate chips.

“What…?” Marcel questioned before Craig could, as he was busy washing dishes at the moment and didn’t want to stop just yet. Motivation to wash dishes ran out fast.

“It’s day 1050.” Fate repeated, angrily stabbing at her waffles and even more so angry when she shoved pieces in her mouth, chewing roughly before swallowing thickly. “... You promised that I would be back soon on day 59. You promised again on day 233. Then you promised  **again** on day 373. Then on day 424, and day 576, and day 599, and--”

“What, are you keeping track like some kind of prisoner or something?” Craig questioned, angrily turning the tap off and air-drying his hands, roughly pulling his sleeves down. He collapsed in his usual seat, and Marcel kept his head down while Craig and Fate glared at each other from across the table, him stuck between like usual.

“It’s been 1050 days since I saw my family and friends.” She argued angrily, but didn’t leave room for him to argue back as she continued. “That’s 90, 720, 000 seconds! That’s 1, 512, 000 minutes! That’s 25, 200 hours! That’s 150 weeks! That’s 287.67% of a common year--which is 365 days!  **I haven’t seen them** !”

Craig and Marcel both stared in shock at how much she had calculated in perhaps an hour, or perhaps right this minute, or even in the second, but Marcel was purely in shock while Craig was angrily shocked.

“It’s too dangerous.” Craig told her sternly, trying not to lose his cool. “You’ll see them  **soon** .”

“When?” She asked, only pushing him, and he rolled his eyes, falling backwards in his seat with a sharp inhale and heavy exhale. “On day 2000? On day 3041? On day  **7099** !?”

“ **No** !” Craig yelled back, and Marcel scooted away from the table in his chair, just ever so slowly.

“I need to see them! Tell me  **when** !” Fate yelled in response, but Craig only stood up, leaning over the table as he yelled.

“I  **said** , I  **don’t know** !” Craig yelled, and Fate got so angry that she simply grabbed her breakfast and stormed off to her room, slamming the door heavily behind her with her magic because she couldn’t be assed to do it physically.

Craig sat down after that, head in his hands as she rested his face into the cold table, groaning away. Raising a child was damn hard, especially a moody twelve year old--late-bloomer or not.

“... You okay?” Marcel questioned, a little concerned, and Craig merely went silent for a moment.

“... She reminds me of Aifric so much…” Craig responded softly before lifting his head off the table, grabbing at it as if he had a headache. He probably did. “... And she hasn’t even hit puberty yet, what the  **fuck** ?”

Marcel snorted into his coffee.

 

* * *

 

 

_ Unknown Time, The Woods, January 31st, 20ZR _

_ Craig remembered how Aifric could never run up the stairs at the old cabin. Every one of them was a different height from the last, making it impossible to properly judge how high to lift your foot. Either it was too high and she would stumble forward with his foot fell beneath where he was expecting it to stop; or she kicked to step lip with her foot. Nonetheless, this old family vacation cabin that had only been used once was a lifesaver now. _

_ It was old and dusty for sure, but the key was still under the outside rug and all of the boxes were still there, all of the furniture still covered, which only made it look older. Pulling off a cover to a comfy seat, he motioned for Marcel to put Fate down right there, quickly closing the door as the young adult did just that, removing his winter jacket and wrapping it around her front to warm her up even quicker. _

_ Craig paused in front of the young girl, pulling off his beanie with a sad smile. _

_ “... It’s not too shabby, right?” He asked, a little worried that she may not like it, but she gave a thankful smile and nodded frantically, her ears flapping along with her nods. “It takes… a bit of imagination, but uh… we can fix it up. It’ll be nice.” He paused, wiping some of her dry nose blood away easily. She hadn’t been worrying about it recently… “It can… be a home, while things settle down.” _

_ Despite the worry and sadness that came with not seeing the Dreemurr’s, she liked the idea of having a place to stay instead of wandering aimlessly through the forest, especially since it was so cold out. _

_ They would have to work for it, but it could be a home. _

 

* * *

 

 

12:03 P.M., November 1st, 20YZ

Fate’s eyes would wander to the filing cabinet whenever she was bored or between tasks, which was often. Craig kept it locked, but she had seen the hiding place of the key many weeks ago, finally. At first, she hadn’t cared about it since it was just a dumb cabinet, but then she started to think about it more. She figured that, whatever it was, it couldn’t be as bad as spending years in the same lonely cabin, and it was time to know what was in there.

The cabinet drawers were hard to open because of the numerous files stuffed into them, each one with a label and organized in neat rows. Only one caught her attention, however:  **Abaddon** .

Immediately, she had sat down with the huge file and started going through it, her little mind barely able to handle how much Craig knew, and Marcel as well. This was Marcel’s hand-writing, but Craig put the files together and hid them from her. She felt a little angry simply looking at the sticky notes because she  **knew** these names and she hated the information in each small file, but none of them really shocked her except for one that came up:  **Konno, Casmyr** .

Her aunt.

She had a file to herself, full of newspapers and notes that Fate didn’t really understand until she flipped to the final page. It was just another newspaper, but half of it was writing and the bottom of it was a picture that validated something she hadn’t thought about in three years--and it sent her thoughts spiralling. Her aunt wasn’t the only one who had survived, like this file told her. Her  **entire family** had, but they just couldn’t search for her without raising suspicion.

Staring at the newspaper for a good five minutes, she eventually grabbed the paper out, folded it, shoved it in her pocket, and then gathered the file together again, cleaning up her mess and making it look as if she hadn’t done anything. She went to her rom, closed the door and locked it, and then turned the TV to a static channel, grabbing her blindfold from the end of her bed. Taking a seat, she stared at the newspaper’s picture before putting the single piece of paper aside and tying the blindfold around her eyes, turning her surroundings dark.

She wanted to see her biological family.

➳

Static. The ground was wet under her socked feet, the surroundings dark, and all she could hear was static.

But she could see her aunt ahead, lying in a bed and staring upwards. She wasn’t speaking, nor was she moving, and Fate moved forward only to see how pale her aunt really was. She tried reaching out, but before she could even get a grasp on her aunt’s paw, she faded away in a cloud of dust, leaving Fate alone in the darkness.

And it didn’t matter how much she called out, because nobody came.

➳

Ripping off her blindfold, the loneliness swirled around her curled form on her bed. The silence echoed in her ears, a constant white noise that wouldn’t shut up, and her head swam in the burning fire despite the slowly filling void. She cried as if her brain was being shredded from the inside, emotional pain flowing out from every pore, and it was a cry so raw that her eyes were more than just wet with tears, the flow of them thick.

The world was a blur. The sounds, the taste, the smells… everything just felt gone. She was gasping for air that wasn’t even there at the moment, just like the people she needed to see.

 

* * *

 

 

2:33 P.M., November 1st, 20YZ

“Don’t do it.”

Gaster’s voice echoed in Fate’s ears as she opened the dresser drawers, grabbing her favorite clothes and keeping them folded as small as possible while she shoved them into her bag. Everything else was packed, she just needed some extra clothes beside the outfit she had on now--big flannel-patterned jacket, gray sweatshirt, baggy overalls, and brown hiking boots.

“I have to.” She insisted towards the ghostly figure that came by once a week, if she was lucky enough for that. “I can’t just sit around anymore. I’ll be back, and Craig and Marcel will just have to understand that  **they** were the ones keeping things hidden from me.”

Without another word, she lugged the backpack over her shoulders and made her way to the door, pausing uncertainly for a moment. This was a risk she had to take, and she was going to take it. Her heart fluttered in her chest when she stepped onto the crunchy leaves down the front, wooden steps, the cold air, pushing past her hood and rustling through her fur for the first time in a very long time.

Now, she just had to walk.

**One step at a time** .

Forcing herself to move, she kept her gaze forward and tried to circulate the air steadily through her lungs while her legs trembled, finding solace in the cold, tiny clouds that formed from her mouth. She felt sick to her stomach, breaking the rules and doing this to Craig and Marcel after they did everything they could for her, but she had to find out the truth.

Stepping over the tripwire slowly, she came out fine on the other end, staring at the path in front of her.

“... Soon.” She stated simply, starting to walk at a faster pace and pushing herself to take bigger steps, finally adventuring through the open world after nearly three years of being cut off.

She just had to keep herself hidden, stay safe, and do what she was set on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where's she goin'


	4. Outcast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Adar, how are you? Ew, teenage girls. What's this about ballet? Fate finds herself a three hour bus ride from home, at the quickest pace.
> 
> Also, Gaster just hangs about. Don't mind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh God, more characters. Here comes the apocalypse.

12:10 P.M., November 4th, 20YR

There was something weird about coffee. Well, not so much  **was** , but more so  **is** .

It had always been this way to Adar, and she was sure that is would always be this way. When she had first tried coffee, a long time ago now, it had obviously been bitter. She had been a kid and didn’t appreciate it as much as she did now, when it was sweet for the first half and  **then** decided to go all bitter on her, if not cold. Coffee was weird, but then again, she liked to think of herself as the resident weirdo of Ebott High’s eleventh grade. It wasn't that she was the only monster or anything, far from actually, but more so that she barely spoke to anyone in the same grade.

Nonetheless, today was going to be a mess, she could already tell from how bitter her coffee was.  **Disgusting** .

 

* * *

 

 

1:24 P.M., November 4th, 20YZ

This was already a mess.

There were roaches everywhere--a codeword for assholes--and Fate had yet to have her cover blown, but she was afraid of it happening too soon as she made her way into the public library, heading right to the back where the computers were. There was a half-hour limit for using the one she sat in front of, but that was absolutely fine because that’s all she really needed.

She looked around, making sure no one could question her from their positions, and then turned back to the blank screen. It didn’t stay that way, quickly turning on and starting to go through what looked like fast-paced programming--numbers, letters, symbols, and so on--while Fate searched for whatever could help. It wasn’t an easy process, nor was it too quick of one, but it was a start.

Gaster just wished that she would only take up half an hour, or else she would get into more trouble than just an angry librarian because she spent more time on the computer than she was supposed to.

It only took exactly thirty minutes for her to sort through information and find what she needed, luckily. She turned off the computer screen and immediately got onto her feet, speed-walking out of the building and following the directions she had memorized in merely three minutes. She had to take a bus to the place, which would be a  **three hour ride** , and she wanted to hurl just imagining it, but it had to be done. It was a good thing that she had snagged that wallet from a snotty business guy earlier.

He wouldn’t miss it…

 

* * *

 

3:30 P.M., November 4th, 20YZ

“Where is Jennifer, Paris?” Carolyn asked in her dark red leotard, her hair held away from her face with a bright red headband. She had kept it at the same length and was no different than she had been three years ago. She was still rich and snobby.

“She dropped out. Didn’t you know? Too much going on in her life, apparently.” Paris responded with a scoff and a roll of her eyes, her hair having been braided and put up in a too-tight bun. She had grown taller over the past three years, but was still shorter than her so-called friends, and wore a deep pink leotard.

“I bet she just dropped out and her parents still think she’s in, just so she can fuck that hot new boyfriend of hers.” Fiona insisted with her nasally laugh, her hair pulled back into a ponytail and her body covered in a lacey, dark violet leotard. She had only gotten worse over the past three years, it seemed, and that was a damn achievement in its own way.

Ellena tried her best to ignore them. She hated teenage girls and dreaded the time where she’d have to spend her every day around them. For now, it was just every Thursday after school at the dance studio, where she attended a ballet program for girls aged nine to sixteen. She wasn’t the only monster there, thank God, but she felt like the youngest. She was definitely the shortest, wearing a long-sleeved black leotard and sky blue leggings that her brother had gotten for her earlier last month, but not the youngest because she had been born in January. Thank every higher power for that…

She was one of four nine year olds in the class and the only nine year old monster, not to mention the oldest nine year old.

Melina Binchdt was born on the third of February and always seemed to stare at her with those hazel brown eyes as if she was oddly interested. Not in any romantic way, she seemed to have her eyes on someone else in their class at Willow Creek Elementary, but just in an interested, “why is she so quiet” way. Melina always had her stringy, strawberry blonde hair in two low pigtails and had dimples alongside her freckles when she smiled, which tended to be often.

Then there were Hallie and Peg, or Peggy, Fairclough from Skyline. They were twins, both being born on the fourth of December and having steel blue eyes, dark brown freckles seemingly everywhere, and frizzy, dark red hair. They also had two older brothers who were also twins and looked exactly the same. Ellena didn’t know much else about them, or how to describe them. They were odd.

The rest of the class was more or less split into nice and awful people for Ellena. A notable nice person was Cindy Hanson, but many of the others such as Fiona, Carolyn and Paris were either quiet or just plain rude.

Such was her life.

She hated her life.

 

* * *

 

 

6:13 P.M., November 4th, 20YZ

After a long walk to the bus station, an odd transaction of fifty dollars for a one-way bus ticket, and then three hours of a bus ride, Fate had finally made it to where she needed to go:  **Chicago** . She was a young monster walking the crowded streets and she was bumped into, stared at, and whispered about many times, but she kept going to wherever she had to off of her memory. One of the greatest things about her mind was that she could search for people with a little bit of help, so she was able to track down a path right to the person she wanted.

Even if she had to walk through the dangerous alleyways full of delinquents looking down on her. None of them tried anything as she wandered through, not that she would allow them to. That was another great thing about coming to accept her magic: self-defense. When she finally saw the decorated door of the right abandoned warehouse, she couldn’t help but smirk to herself over how greatly she had grown with both magic and independence. She could hear Craig’s angry yelling fading out now, being replaced by her independant ways. She didn’t need him.

The warehouse seemed smaller on the inside, if she was honest, especially with the odd four around a barrel fire. None of them were who she needed to see…

The first was a pale girl with short, poorly cut, unkempt hair a chocolate brown eyes with hues of blue and green. She wore the palest colors out of all of them with a white, long-sleeved, sweater-shirt, a pair of bright blue jean shorts, a pair of black leggings or something along that line, and cyan high-tops that reminded Fate of hers that she had lost three years ago along with everything else.

The second was one of her kind, a male with dark gray fur cut short and dark brown eyes that nearly appeared black. He had a horribly jagged scar running down the left side of his face from his temple to his jawline and wore all black except for his shoes--a black jean jacket, a black t-shirt, a pair of black jeans, and a pair of dark green sneakers, a little olive in Fate’s opinion.

The third was a girl who, Fate thought it was safe to say, was Pacific Islander. She had the lightly toned, tanned skin that Fate had seen in pictures and dark brown eyes that shined with adventure, and she was one of the two smiling. Her dark brown hair was long, down to her waist, frizzy, and worn free of tying, and she wore the brightest colors out of all of them with an orange tank top, a black jean vest, ripped blue jeans, and bright green sneakers.

The fourth was an odd girl, the second who was smiling, with pale skin, hazel brown eyes, and waist-length, mint green dyed hair. She wore a Japanese-esque, steampunk or punk rock type, style despite being outwardly American consisting of a teddy bear styled bandana, a teddy bear decorated, knee-length dress made of soft materials to the eye, a pair of black, lace arm-gloves, a pair of skull-decorated fingerless gloves with unnecessary chains on the back of them, black stockings most likely, and a pair of cute black boots, again with unnecessary chains on the sides of them. She also had on a black and white, cotton surgical mask that looked like a bear muzzle.

And when she made herself known, they weren’t happy to see an “intruder”.

“I’m looking for a boy.” She stated quickly as they all stood up menacingly. She wasn’t scared, but she didn’t want to fight if it could be prevented. “He’s supposed to be here… different from you.” It was a remark to the male Pheofrash who took lead on the menacing way they stood over her.

“Go back to the farm.” He scoffed, pushing at her shoulder a bit, and she swallowed thickly from the physical contact along with how close he decided to get. She was just wearing overalls…

“I saw him. Here.” Fate only pushed on before realizing that was probably the wrong thing to say. They were delinquents. “Seeing” any of them as a stranger meant trouble to them. Nonetheless, she reached into her pockets, only for the boy to grab her wrist harshly and yank it out, picture of who she was looking for alongside it. That was another wrong move. He probably thought she was going to pull a weapon on them.

But as he stared at the photo, he only seemed to get more suspicious and angrier.

“How did you find us?” He demanded, and she took a deep breath. She might as well tell the truth whether they believed her or not.

“I saw.” She repeated, but he gripped onto her wrist harder, causing her to have to holdback a wince. She held back a glare as he roughly pulled off her hood, glaring down at her. There was a pause, and then he pulled a knife, causing only a shot of fear to run through her before she ripped it fro his hand, sending it flying a couple of feet away.

That only made him angrier, but then a voice stopped the conflict.

“Stand down, Matteo.”

And Fate remembered that one, from exactly who she was looking for. Another male Pheofrash, but with beige-yellow fur and reddish-brown eyes who wore a black jean jacket, a dark gray sweater-shirt, a pair of dark blue jeans, and a simple pair of black sneakers. He came walking down the steps to the top floor of the warehouse, making sure that his steps caused an impact for Matteo to let go of the young girl who had merely come to see a friend.

“... I’d like to say that it’s good to see you, but I know that you’d never come unless it was serious.” He brought up with her, and she gave a nod as Matteo backed off, angry that she was someone he  **had** to back off from. “... What brings you to a group of Abaddon-grown children, Fate?”

Matteo’s neck would’ve snapped had he swung his head around any harder.

“ **This damn child** !?” He demanded from his leader. “She’s like… fucking  **ten** , Callias! She is  **not** Fate!”

“I’m twelve, actually.” Fate responded snappily before Callias could. “And I’m not Fate. My name is merely so.”

Matteo looked ready to burst, his face turning red, but Callias laid a hand over Matteo’s scar, calming him instantly.

“Go take a seat, friend.” Callias insisted, and without any arguing, Matteo did just that while the three girls snickered over how easily Callias could get into his head. Callias then turned to Fate. “I heard that you were dead, but perhaps I heard wrong.”

He took a seat, motioning for Fate to sit down beside him and get comfortable, so she did just that. She trusted Callias, after all.

“No. I ended up in the void, but had a calling to return.” She explained simply, and Callias looked past her for a moment, shocking the ghostly figure that was following the young girl. Gaster had never been seen by anyone but Frisk and Fate. “Friend.” Fate reassured, and Callias gave a no, looking back to her.

“What brings you here?” He questioned, and Fate took a deep breath, unsure of how to explain. She would have to wing it.

“... Family.” She started off simply, staring into the crackling fire that licked the edges of the rusted barrel. “Original is somewhere, they can’t search for me just yet… I can’t return to the Dreemurr’s just yet, because of the Abaddon.” That was pretty much it, honestly. Simple, plain, and hurtful. Callias understood.

“... You really think that the Abaddon won’t target them just because you’re not there?” Callias questioned, and she gave him a shrug immediately in return.

“That’s what Craig and Marcel said. I’ve been with them the past three years, staying in the same cabin… nothing ever happens…” Fate explained, and Callias scratched behind his left ear--nicked away at the top because of the Abaddon and its ways. “... I don’t know what to do. I travelled all this way, and for what? I don’t have any requests, I don’t have any meaning for it… I just know you.”

Callias gave a small chuckle, resting a paw on her knee reassuringly.

“It’s fine.” He seemed to promise, helping her relax a bit. “You found me with only an image?” She shook her head.

“With the image, I found you, but with a snag of a rich snob’s wallet and the wide-web search of how to get here… yah, I found you.” She explained, and he gave a laugh, which made her smile a bit.

“You are  **incredible** .” He complimented, patting her knee before taking his paw back. “... Stay here for a bit. Let some stuff tide over. When you want to or when we need to, we’ll all take a roadtrip back to Ebott.”

“I don’t want to return to that  **shithole** …” Matteo muttered, staring into the fire with a rage in his eyes, and they could all honestly understand why.

“I didn’t say that it would have to be soon.” Callias told him before shrugging a bit. “But I mean… it’s already been three years, nearly. It would be nice, I suppose.” He then turned to Fate again. “Just stay for a bit. It might do some good.

After a pause to think and a couple of deep breaths to keep her mind wondering, Fate gave Callias another small smile and nodded a bit.

“... Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love my angsty boy Matteo, and the others along with Callias are pretty great.
> 
> Also, how gay do you think Matteo is for Callias and how oblivious do you think Callias is? There's two very different answers for those questions.


	5. There's no place like home.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With every tiny bit of humor comes a huge amount of whoop-ass on your feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure what to put here, except that this story will be having Arc's. This is Arc one, obviously.

_ “Hey, it’s me again. I’m not too sure if you can hear me anymore, since it’s day 1054… and I know that I’m early, really early, but I won’t have time tonight because some of us are getting together to study for a really hard test that’s coming up. Teacher’s are still dicks, by the way. _

_ … Two years, ten months, eighteen days. That’s how long it’s been. I’m not a math wiz like you or Frisk, but I asked them to calculate it so I could nerd out a bit in a way you’d understand. _

_ … 90, 979, 200 seconds, 1, 516, 320 minutes, 25, 272 hours, 150 weeks and 3 days, 288.49% of a common year--those all add up into your absence. We’re waiting for you, I promise, but… I have to admit, I’m kinda losing hope. _

_ We miss you.  _ **_I_ ** _ miss you… and I’m hoping you’ll come back soon, or at least make contact. We just have to know if you’re okay. _

_ … Alright, I get it. You can’t respond for whatever reason. That’s okay… I’ll talk to you tomorrow, as per usual.” _

_ “… I miss you, too.” _

 

* * *

 

 

12:03 P.M., November 5th, 20YR

Fate woke up suddenly to a hand on her shoulder, in a state of shock and worry before she realized that it was only Callias. Not that it made anything better, honestly… she still couldn’t see Chara outside of her mind.

“... It’s noon.” Fate stated, having caught a glimpse of Callias’ watch, and he only nodded before speaking to her.

“... Come on, kid. It’s time you meet my friends-- **properly** .” Callias insisted, and she didn’t argue. It was best not to, she supposed, especially since she wouldn’t be going anywhere too soon.

Following Callias down the stairs of the warehouse, it wasn’t a surprise that everyone was already up and bustling despite being delinquents with nowhere to really go. It was past noon, after all… Callias kept a hand in between her shoulder blades to keep her calm as he motioned to Matteo first.

“This is Matteo. We call him Matt for short, or “Egg” when we’re out and about as a code name.” Callias explained, and grinned when Fate’s face scrunched up in confusion from the code name. “We all have code names here. We’re delinquents. Matteo is called Egg because he’s hard on the outside, but squishy on the inside.”

“Fuck you, Callias.” Matteo snapped, busy switching through radio stations before stopping on one that listened in to police chatter. Callias only smirked.

“You would.” He countered as he continued on, and Fate couldn’t help but notice that past Matteo’s glare, there was a softness and a dust of pink across his cheeks. Callias motioned to the blonde girl next. “This is Kadin, our newest and quietest. She only speaks when necessary or when she feels like it. Her code name is “Shiv” because she’s soft, but is actually a weapon and could kill someone.”

Kadin only waved in response, too busy sketching something that Fate recognized, and then Callias motioned to the Pacific Islander girl next.

“This is Natia, and despite her happy demeanor, she’s our eyes and protector. We call her “Sweets” because she’s sweet, but has a bad backlash.” Callias explained, and Natia looked away from the huge window to grin at the pair.

“Nice to meet you!” Natia greeted cheerfully, but then immediately turned back to looking out the window, probably looking out for the police. Fate wasn’t really surprised, but also didn’t really care.

Callias motioned to the girl with mint green dyed hair last.

“This is Emmeline, but her code name, and the name we usually always call her anyways, is “Mintie”. It makes sense because of her hair, and don’t be intimidated by her Japanese-esque clothing--she just likes wearing cute things and Japan has the stuff she likes.” Callias explained, and Fate gave a small nod before pausing and then turning to Callias.

“What’s your code name?” She questioned, and he answered almost immediately.

“It’s “Lucky”, because that’s what we all are when it comes down to it. Lucky to be alive.” He explained to her, and it took her a moment to think about it, but then she nodded a bit. “We’re all outcasts, but we’re alive.”

“... Outcasts?” Fate questioned, oddly never having heard that word before, and Calliad gave her a nod as they all sat down around a table.

“Freaks.” Matteo responded simply, but Kadin scoffed and rolled her eyes in a way that said “speak for yourself”.

“Society left us behind, hurt us, discarded us.” Callias explained to her properly, and she barely followed along. “With the Abaddon incident, we’re all orphans. We have no family whatsoever, and with the monsters still kind of being an old thing turned new, no one was willing to take care of us--monster or not. We each ran away at our own paces, but all ended up in the same place:  **here** .”

“We were all dead.” Mintie put simply, and despite Fate’s face being neutral with a tint of confusion, she could understand that. “The truth is that Callias saved us, so now we help him. In this life, you roll over, or you fight back--you should understand that better than anyone.”

“The point is, we’re all fighters here.” Natia interrupted a bit, but Mintie didn’t seem to mind, and Fate paused before raising another question.

“... Who do you fight?” She asked softly, and almost immediately, Matteo got up from his seat, grabbed a bow off of a shelf, and then sat back down, dumping the content. They were all ID cards, and there was a lot of them. No one touched them at first, though. They just stared at their work.

“Everyone you see in these ID cards--” Callias started, finally picking through them a bit. “--was in some way responsible for what happened to us.”

That gave Fate a sense of clarity, in a way.

“... Abaddon…?” She questioned softly, and Callias gave a slight smirk, handing one of the ID cards to her. The name read “Korina Noral”, and Fate recognized that name from the place she spent most of her childhood, so she handed it back to Callias, who merely put it back on the table. “... Kill?”

“They’re criminals.” Callias reminded her, causing her to look down at her boots. “We simply make them pay for their crimes.”

A minute or so passed, and then Mintie snickered at the young girl because she still had her head down, making her lift it a bit.

“What’s wrong,  **Fate** ? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Mintie laughed, and Matteo gathered all the cards into the box again, getting up to put them back. “I guess we can’t all be fighters.” That got on Fate’s nerves a little bit.

“I’m a fighter. I’ve killed.” She insisted, raising her head up all the way. “How do you think you’re all here, instead of still stuck in the Abaddon?” She knew it would hit a nerve with them and wasn’t sure why she said it, but she wanted to make a point. She was done being looked down upon as if she was some sort of ant. She wasn’t unless you thought of bullet ants, in which case, she felt that was relevant.

Callias only grinned at her, pulling a paper out of his pocket. It was a newspaper with a photo, much like the one she kept of her family despite knowing that she would probably never get to them. She took the paper from him anyways, and was able to recognize the face through a memory of her time back in the Abaddon. His name was Gordon, and he had indirectly helped her escape by messing with the red slime creatures in the cave along with the usual. It had been years, but she still remembered his face and his stupidity.

“... He hurt Auntie…” She mumbled, remembering when she had looked at that picture of her Aunt to see what had happened to her--how she had ended up so lifeless in that bed. She had gone down a fighter, fighting for her niece, and Gordon had tasered her straight in the head with the highest volts possible. It was a miracle that her brain hadn’t melted, but it was still messed up, and Fate hated him for that and for doubting her intelligence.

“... You found me with only a picture. You just had to find your way to me.” Callias remembered, and Fate looked up at him, their eyes piercing into each other. “He’s  **living** . He’s not guilty, he’s not in jail, he’s not dead--he’s just living a life that we can’t even think of.” He reached out, tapping on the picture. “... You can find him like you found me, can’t you?”

Fate paused, thinking about it for a moment, and then nodding frantically, an angry expression crossing over her face.

“... I need static and a blindfold, that’s all.”

* * *

 

 

1:05 P.M., November 5th, 20YZ

Ellena knew that ballet would be hard, but who knew that your feet could get so sore so quick? And the ribbons of her shoes always ended up cutting into her by the end of each class, but she had no one to talk to about it… except Melina, but she was a Binchdt. Ellena knew that not all kids too after their parents, Hell look at her and Jered, but she also knew that she wasn’t a social person. If she tried having a conversation, it wouldn’t matter if it turned bad or not because she would already be having a panic attack.

The bell rang before too long, signifying that she had to be in class  **now** or she was most likely skipping after eating lunch because she didn’t go home for lunch. Thank God her teacher was Ms. Cotler.

She was  **not** looking forward to Mrs. Binchdt next year…

 

* * *

 

 

1:21 P.M., November 5th, 20YZ

Fate wasn’t sure how to feel.

First of all, she was able to find Gordon, but then when everyone had split off to get ready, Callias had told her that she couldn’t just join them in some baggy overalls and a goody-two-shoes look. She didn’t understand what that meant until he asked to go through her bag, in which she gave a shrug and allowed his to do so, and he had pulled out some very specific clothes to make an outfit.

“But it’s Autumn.” She had argued upon first going through the only one layer, or two if you counted the top half layering. Callias had shrugged in response.

“Try it on anyways.” He had countered, and she had paused before trying it on.

It was a black tank top underneath the red and black checkered, still slightly baggy, flannel that Destiny had given her years ago; she had never thrown it out and wouldn’t dare to forget it no matter where she went. Overtop of the buttoned-up flannel was a light gray, perhaps a very light purple, cotton vest of some sort that was thin and had a little hood like her flannel, but came down in two, long, lace pieces at the front while the back stayed at her waist. She then wore a simple pair of dark blue jeans, but they were rolled up once and the cuffs were scribbled on anxiously with filled-in, black sharpie stars. On her feet she wore warm, dark green socks that she rolled down twice, and red and white high-top converse with two perfect bows--until she had stepped on one and decided that she was too lazy to fix i, so she just tied both of the laces around her ankles and into little double knots.

She kept her necklaces, which was honestly fine, and Callias helped with fixing her flannel collar so it didn’t look stupidly popped up, and her flannel sleeves so she didn’t look like an absolute child. She didn’t like them going past her wrists and had tried to pull them down again when he rolled them up, but he had promised that showing off her bandages would be okay.

It made her look stronger, because they signified that she had been beaten down and still got back up.

He promised that if she really didn’t like it, they could tie bandanas around her wrist, which she had given him a confused look over. He had only laughed at her expression. He also helped with brushing through her fur so it wasn’t so messy, but also left it slightly unkempt like it usually was because it “added to the look”. She didn’t understand, but she trusted him.

When he had finally brought her back downstairs, Natia had been ecstatic, jumping up and down and clapping.

“She looks  **bitchin** ’!” Natia squealed, and although having heard and used the word “bitch” before, the word “bitchin’” was new to Fate.

“... Bitchin’.” She had repeated, sounding confident when she really wasn’t, and to her surprise, she had gotten many laughs in return before the group took off, Callias putting a hand between her shoulder blades again to lead her along as they made their way out of the warehouse and to a van parked in the alleyway to the right of the building, having been covered by a tarp, most likely because they didn’t want the police finding them.

Natia got into the driver’s seat, Matteo sitting in the front passenger’s seat because he had called out “shotgun” before anyone else could--Fate had learned that was a way of calling dibs on the passenger seat--Kadin and Mintie crawled into the back, and Callias allowed her to sit beside him in the middle, which she was grateful for.

And despite not liking loud noises, the loud music from the radio didn’t bother her as they progressed down the road, Natia being a fairly good driver aside from her playful swerves now and then. The way the group worked together made Fate smile despite feeling slightly out of place.

 

* * *

 

 

2:30 P.M., November 5th, 20YZ

Out of every crisis Jasmine had, this one was the worst. She had to rush to the bathroom during her last, and favorite, class, only to end up stuck in there and frantically texting Adar. When Adar texted back, it only got worse because monsters were different from humans when it came to these things.

At this point, Jasmine wished she had been born a boy. Nonetheless, she went through all her friend’s contacts, those of them who were biologically female and not monsters that is, and mass texted  **all of them** . That meant Chandler, Grace, Isabella, Aubree, Akina, Ine, Chara, and Frisk. She had no shame right now.

**_Jasmine:_ ** _ MASS TEXTING AN SOS! STUCK IN GIRL’S BATHROOM, FLOOR 2, WEST SIDE. NIAGARA FALLS HAS FINALLY STARTED FOR ME. BRING PAINKILLERS, THE CRAMPS ARE BAD _

They all texted back.

**_Chandler:_ ** _ In Science doing a lab. Can’t help. Good luck, tho _ _   
_ **_Grace:_ ** _ In Mr. Lawrence’s class. Not craving death today. _ _   
_ **_Isabella:_ ** _ Skipping. Doing overdue novel report in library. Can’t get caught. _ _   
_ **_Aubree:_ ** _ Don’t have it yet, can’t help _ _   
_ **_Akina:_ ** _ the 1 day i bring none, jas _ _   
_ **_Ine:_ ** _ I don’t have any on me at the moment. I’m so sorry, Jasmine _ _   
_ **_Chara:_ ** _ Meet me @ office after school for drug deal aka tylenol _ _   
_ **_Frisk:_ ** __ hOLD ON I’M COMING JASMINE  >~<

Thank the Lord for Frisk and Chara. Jasmine loved them right now.

She hated life, though. Well, more than she already did, if that was possible. High school  **sucked** …

 

* * *

 

 

7:30 P.M., November 5th, 20YZ

The guilt didn’t sit on her chest, but inside her brain. What she had done, she couldn’t undo. She could make amends in subtle ways, but confession was out of the question. The flash of anger hd protected her from the pain--the guilt--but if she was to relive it, she would fail herself and the group she had ended up in. She had hated Gordon and has been all in to kill him, but upon the realization from family photos and two little kids on the phone in their room, she had given unnecessary mercy to the man who had hurt her Aunt. Simply because he had a little boy and a little girl, simply because he had a family and was living a life, and simply because she didn’t want those kids to end up as orphans like she had.

The mercy she had given wasn’t right. He deserved death, but she hadn’t given it and she hadn’t allowed anyone else to do it before the police showed up, either.

Now she just sat here, on the bed that she barely wanted to call her own in this abandoned warehouse. They honestly weren’t the problem, she was. They were facing the people who gave them this shitty life, but she couldn’t even kill a man who hurt her Aunt. She had killed before, but suddenly, killing seemed out of the question. Callias promised her that this wasn’t a prison and she didn’t have to lead this life if she didn’t want to, but she didn’t know where she would even go. She had barely unpacked, but yet, she couldn’t make the final movements to leave… She didn’t really have anywhere to go.

Grabbing out her teddy bear--not Steven, but a replacement Marcel had gotten her since she had left him back at the Dreemurr’s--from her bag like a child, she hugged it tightly and la back on the bed, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She didn’t plan to sleep, but to simply reach out a bit. Whether it was memories or not, she didn’t care. She just needed something to keep her from crying…

_ Kid… At a certain point in your life, probably when too much of it has gone by… you will open your eyes and see yourself for who you are, especially for everything that made you so different from all the awful normals. You will say to yourself--but I  _ **_am_ ** _ this person. And in that statement, that correction… there will be a kind of love. _

_ I think you’re beautiful. _

_ I know you can do it. _

_ You want her, you’ll have to kill us first! _

_ You’ll be home soon. Promise. _

_ This is not yours to fix alone! You act like you’re all alone in this world, but you’re  _ **_not_ ** _!  _ **_You’re not alone_ ** _! _

_ We can fix it up. It’ll be nice. It can… be a home, while things settle down. _

Before she knew it, she was hearing static and walking across the wet ground in a dark voice. In two distances, she saw people she loved, who had loved her. Craig and Marcel arguing one way, and then Chara the other way, depressingly strumming at a guitar. She didn’t want to know what Craig and Marcel were arguing over, and they got distracted and ran away when she turned her head to them anyways. So, she made her way to Chara, and others started appearing as well--her friends. She hadn’t seen them in so long…

Danny sat at his piano with Amber beside him, Chara’s walkie-talkie sitting on top of it with the button held down with a bunch of rubber bands and hair-ties. Chara was on the Cameron’s couch with Frisk and the Rose’s, and the Pickering siblings stood in different places around the piano, with the Binchdt’s sitting on one of the arms of the couch, and the Allyn twins sitting on the other arm of the couch.

They were all grown up, and Fate couldn’t help but start to cry.

“You really heard her?” Destiny prodded, and Chara rolled their eyes.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure it was just a radio dude--of course it was her!” Chara snapped after their sarcastic start, causing Destiny to look down at his feet in shame. “She said “I miss you, too”! She’s  **alive** and she  **needs us** !”

“If anything, Chara, we need her.” Adar corrected, deciding to finally take a seat on the ground that Fate couldn’t see, but remembered the way it had looked back at Danny’s birthday party. Gray carpet. She had blended in, and it had been a joke that she was a “carpet cat”. “With the happenings around town, it’s only a matter of time until the ones who were taken nearly three years ago are targeted and the town is put on another curfew or some shit.”

What? What had happened…?

“You mean, with the creatures?” Danny asked, playing a piano note simply to keep himself calm while they conversed. “Because, yah… I can see why we’d need her. She was the only one who could fight the creature back in the Abaddon before she disappeared, and these creatures are no better.”

Everyone nodded, and Fate couldn’t help but feel worried. Creatures were running around Ebott? Were they from the Abaddon? Was everyone still okay?

“... I miss Fate…” Frisk suddenly mumbled, and everyone paused before nodding.

“She was good, and powerful.” Jasmine added, but Chara suddenly shoved the guitar into Aiden’s arm, standing up angrily.

“What do you mean  **was** !? She’s  **still alive** ! I heard her!” Chara insisted, walking straight up to the walkie-talkie, changing the channel, and yelling into it, hurting Fate’s ears. “You’re there, right!? You  **better** be! I  **know** you’re alive, I heard you earlier!”

Fate didn’t know how to respond.

“ **Talk to me, dammit** !  **Tell me you’re okay** !”

Chara never cried, but after 1054 days… Fate knew why they were, and she wanted to stop them from doing so anyway she could. She didn’t take orders from  **anyone** , not anymore.

“... I’m okay…” She promised softly, and watched as everyone looked at the walkie-talkie in shock. Chara was still breathing funny because of their tears, but they spoke anyways.

“...  _ Little sister _ …?” They questioned, and shivers ran up and down Fate’s spine as she nodded to herself, closing her eyes.

“... Chara.” She responded, and the walkie-talkie dropped to the ground.

Not that it mattered. She knew where she had to go.

But loud banging told her otherwise.

➳

Fate snapped out of her mind, eyes snapping open back into the abandoned warehouse, and she jumped to her feet, rushing forward to look over the railing down to the first floor as everyone ran up to the second.

The police had found them.

She quickly shoved everything into her backpack, threw it over her shoulders, and rushed to her group as they were making their way out a window and onto the roof. She stepped into Kadin’s clasped hands and grabbed onto Callias and Matteo’s outstretched paws, hoisting herself out of the window before all of them helped Kadin out, Mintie closing the window quickly and quietly behind them. They went in a single file line from biggest to smallest and they quietly shuffled towards the edge of the roof, the ground below grassy, clear, and hopefully not too hard. It would hurt for sure, but that was a risk they had to take.

Mintie went down first, then Natia, then Kadin, then Callias, then Matteo, and then finally, it was Fate’s turn. She cringed as she flattened herself onto her stomach and approached the edge, her heart fluttering in her chest when she no longer felt the shingles of the roof beneath her, and she gasped when her weight suddenly became very reliant on her arms. She was dangling from the roof, her legs swinging in the breeze, and she took one last glimpse around before letting of and crashing towards the ground.

The breath slipped from her lungs at the impact and her mouth was full of dirt when she landed in the grass, letting out a groan as she lifted her head up. Nonetheless, they didn’t have any time to fully recover, quickly rushing to their van that was luckily not surrounded by policeman, and they all clambered into their spots, Natia quickly booting up th van and slamming her foot down on the gas pedal.

They went sharply around the corner and Fate focused on a tall light post ahead, and when they drove past it, it was ripped from the ground, falling in the way of the police cars that had tried to follow them. She harshly rubbed away the blood, and then spoke up.

“Ebott.” She told Natia, who was breathing heavily and driving like a nut job. No one could blame her.

“ **What** !?” Many of them demanded, and she only elaborated.

“The Abaddon won’t stop striking. Ebott is in danger and my friends-- **my family** \--need me.” She explained hastily, barely able to focus. “We have to go to Ebott.”

There was a long, uneasy pause that made her feel worried, but then Callias nodded to Natia, who nodded back and took a sharp turn onto a highway that Fate faintly remembered on the bus ride to Chicago. She even saw a sign: “ _ Thank you for visiting Chicago! Come again! _ ”

And she couldn’t help but smile.

She was going home.

They all were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly love my little group of outcasts.
> 
> Also, what the fuck is going on in Ebott?


	6. This Is A Slight Filler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Siblings, Lesbians, Kids being kids, and a fucking party.
> 
> It's just another day, my dudes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> iF YOU LIKE JOHN MULANEY, YOU'LL LIKE THIS FILLER.

7:15 A.M., November 5th, 20YZ

_ “Stupid, stupid shirt!” _

Grace let out a sigh of frustration, yanking off the shirt she had attempted to put on before realizing that it was too small for her growing, now teenaged body. Instead of getting more frustrated with it, however, she simply threw on a hoodie and left her bedroom, crossing over to Heather’s. She hadn’t come out of her room yet despite the fact the school started in about an hour and a part of Grace wanted to think that her older sister might still be asleep, but she knew better.

She tapped her fingers on Heather’s door.

“Heather? Are you awake?” Grace called, and there was no response for several seconds. Just when Grace was about to walk away, she heard the soft padding of footsteps on the other side of the door before the lock faintly clicked open and she was met face-to-face with Heather. She was dressed nicely, her hair all done up and her makeup finished in caked layers as per usual, and she wasn’t excited to see her little sister--also as per usual.

“What?” Heather deadpanned, but Grace was used to it now.

“Could I borrow that purple sweatshirt of yours?” Grace questioned politely, not in the mood for a cat fight right at the moment. “The one that’s getting a little too small for you and you were thinking about throwing it out anyways?”

Heather rolled her eyes, spun on her heel, and disappeared into her girly, pink-cladded room without a word. Grace waited in silence, rocking back on her heels without stepping over the threshold. She never went into Heather’s room for many reason, the main one being that she didn’t want to be forced into sharing a room with her older sister by showing interest in front of her parents. Grace would honestly rather sleep in the backyard than share a room with Heather.

Finally, Heather returned and thrusted the sweater into Grace’s chest before slamming the door in her face without a second to lose, and Grace merely stared for several seconds before finally returning to her own bedroom. She quickly discarded her jacket for the sweater made of soft material, bringing her to her wrists into the insides of her sleeves.

Baggy clothes were her favorite.

Now if only today could be different…

 

* * *

 

 

12:19 P.M., November 5th, 20YZ

“Hey, Janiyah, you got a cancer stick?”

At the sound of Krystal’s voice, Janiyah looked up from the pages of her book. She was only fourteen now, and Janiyah was sixteen, but the pair still carried on their bad habits from back in the seventh grade. If honesty were a thing in high school, it would be obvious that Krystal’s face and height made her look a lot older than she actually was. Maybe it was the smoking, or the drinking, or maybe it was just because she had gotten into so many fights that even her own younger brother remembered her face before she had received her first punch in a brawl.

A lot of people came to know Krystal as the meanest, toughest fighter in the damned high school besides the other stupid kids who fought as if their life depended on it--and perhaps it did. Of course, no one ever called her a fighter. All they ever saw was a monster who lived on the poorer, dirtier side of life, but Janiyah knew better. Krystal had a little bit of gold inside of her. It was just hard to find. She had been toughened up by her rough upbringings, never having a stable home, never getting good grades because her Mother died when she was young and her Father was addicted to alcohol. Sometimes he forgot that she and Aaron even existed.

“Earth to Janiyah.” Krystal called again, ad Janiyah finally snapped out of her trace and looked back up at the younger girl.

Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out her pack of cigarettes and tossed on up to her. She was already ready with her lighter and within seconds, Krystal was sitting down beside the older girl and the smokey smell was drifting up towards the already gray sky. There was a soft breeze in the air that felt nice through their fur, but of course, it only felt nice now.

“You okay?” Krystal wondered, and Janiyah scoffed. She knew that Krystal had heard it.

“I’m fine.” She snapped lightly, unable to focus on the pages of her book. Skipping class for another class was one thing, but knowing that Krystal was just simply skipping because she could made Janiyah feel stupid. “There’s nothing like knowing your best friend is slowly failing just do hang out with you.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Krystal insisted, but Janiyah only rolled her eyes.

“I have to worry, Krys.” She retorted, closing her book, but Krystal shook her head a bit.

“If you want to worry so much, come to Lucas Binchdt’s party tonight. It’s gonna be stupid, but there’ll be drinks--and guys.” Krystal promised, but Janiyah only scoffed again, shoving her book into her backpack. “What, are you a lesbian or something?”

“Or something.” Janiyah responded with a grin. “You’re the lesbian, Krys, and Lucas Binchdt? We hate him, and his Mother!”

“Yah, but his birth spawn is out of town.” Krystal explained, and Janiyah rolled her eyes again, pulling her backpack over her shoulders. “We should go over there and fuck shit up, y’know? Most of the damn school is invited, so there’s that.”

Janiyah got up onto her feet and Krystal immediately followed, throwing the cigarette down and stomping it out. It took a moment of intense staring, but Janiyah finally gave in with a whine.

“Fine, I’ll go to the stupid party!” Janiyah groaned, and Krystal gave a big smile in response, clapping a bit.

“Great! See you at seven!”

And Krystal was off, leaving Janiyah confused and in the dust.

 

* * *

 

 

4:30 P.M., November 5th, 20YZ

This was the best meal Adar had ever had.

Grillby’s was a good diner for humans and monsters to coexist and have a peaceful meal in a calm, relaxing atmosphere. With her siblings alongside Danny and Amber around the table with her, it was already sure to be a good meal, but then Danny had noticed the jukebox. There was a reason Danny and Adar were close friends, and Jasmine somehow both loved and hated their genius minds. She also loved and hated the fact that this diner had not only a jukebox, but was named and run by a dude literally made out of fire.

In any case, Danny and Adar decided to use all their change because the jukebox was three plays for a dollar, and they put in seven dollars worth of songs. But they didn’t choose twenty-one different songs.

They selected twenty-one plays of Tom Jones’ “What’s New Pussycat”.

Then they all ordered, and they all waited.

The thing about having “What’s New Pussycat” playing over and over and over and over and over again, was that the second time it plays, your immediate thought wasn’t that someone was playing it again. It would be “Hey… this is a lot longer then I first thought” because it has a dip in the middle, like Guns and Roses “November Rain”. You think “Hey, November Rain is over”, but it isn’t. There’s more.

The third time “What’s New Pussycat” played, you might be thinking “Maybe someone is playing it again”, but the fourth time it plays, you’ll be thinking “ **Woah** , someone just played this four times or at least twice, but it’s a really long song.”

The fifth time was the kicker.

The group of kids was watching the entire diner at that point and most people had gotten wind as to what was going on. They were staring at this one guy who was sitting in a booth while his stupid kids jumped about, and he had been onto them since the beginning. His hand was shaking and he was staring into his coffee cup with a look that kind of gave off that perhaps he had just gotten his thirty day chip from anger management. So, he was staring, and the fourth play faded out… It was dead quiet, and then…

**BWUAHH, BWUAOHH, WHAT’S NEW PUSSYCAT**

The guy pounded on the table, screaming at the top of his lungs, and silverware went flying everywhere. It was fantastic, but a word about Danny… and what a genius he is… When the pair of friend had first been up at the jukebox and were punching in the “What’s New Pussycat”’s, Adar had punched in about seven of them before Danny had stopped her and suggested, “Hey… let’s put in one “It’s Not Unusual”.

The afternoon quickly went from good to great.

After seven “What’s New Pussycat”’s in a row, there was suddenly…

**Dum ts nunum ts dum ts nunununununum, It’s Not Unusual**

A sigh of relief swept through the diner. People were  **ecstatic** . It was like the liberation of France, except grown adults weeping tears of joy.

But on the other hand, when it went back… “It’s Not Unusual” fades out… it’s dead quiet…

**BWaAaAh BwOa, WHAT’S NEW PUSSYCAT**

Everyone went fucking insane. No one could handle it, and yet they were surrounded by staff that was just like “Yep, same shit as always.”

Nonetheless, it was the best meal Danny and Adar had ever had.

 

* * *

 

 

9:39 P.M., November 5th, 20YZ

Everyone Janiyah had ever met was at this damn party.

Everyone was drinking like it was drinking like it was the end of the world, like it was the Civil War and a doctor was coming to saw their legs off. It was completely unsupervised, no adults anywhere, and that meant people were running wild.

She had walked down to the basement for some peace and quiet, only to find that it was even louder down there. Quinn Aelin from her grade had taken a running start right down the steps and threw themselves onto the pool table that was down there, and shamelessly  **broke it in half** . She had tried going upstairs instead, but found a sight she never wanted to see: Tahir Harju sitting in the bedroom of Mr. and Mrs. Binchdt, but not only sitting. He was taking a shit on their highly price computer.

So the party was going great.

She decided to do the only good thing to do at a party like this, which was drink until you blackout. She found herself standing in the basement with everyone else, holding a red cup full of some sort of vodka, and she was just starting to blackout when someone said something about the police. In a brilliant moment of word association, her drunk side had come out and she threw her cup on the ground, gathering everyone’s attention as she yelled.

“ **Fuck the police** !” She screamed, shocking everyone because she never really used that kind of language unless she was angry. “ **Fuck the police** !”

Everyone else joined in on the third time and continued going. It was a bunch of drunk children just yelling “fuck the police” with the confidence of people who had already been to jail and weren’t afraid of it. You know, that “I served my nickel, you come and take me” confidence, but drunk children.

The reason someone had said something about the police was because the police were there.

An Ebott police officer came walking down the stairs and got to the bottom of the basement, and looked out over a sea of drunk toddlers yelling “fuck the police” in his face. He was almost impressed, letting out an amazed “wow”, before leaning into his walkie-talkie.

“Get the paddy wagon.”

Pogo Bellatrix grabbed a forty, smashed it on the ground, and then screamed at the top of her lungs.

“ **_Scatter_ ** !”

Everyone ran in different directions. It was like the scene in Ratatouille when the humans came into the kitchen and all the rats went in different directions; everyone ran in different directions. Janiyah made her way into the laundry room, quickly jumping up on a washing machine, and she crawled out a small window into the backyard. She dashed through the backyard and there was a huge chain-link fence.

All she could think was of how she had never climbed a fence that high before.

 

* * *

 

 

7:48 A.M., November 6th, 20YZ

Janiyah had woken up at home, in her bed, with a very,  **very** sore head. She still got up, got ready, and went out the door to go to school before her Mother could realize that she was hungover and had actually participated in underaged drinking--which would have gotten her grounded for life.

She went to school and as she was walking into the school building when Lucas suddenly stopped her, looking awfully frantic.

“Hey, were you at my party last night?” He asked, and Janiyah immediately shook her head like a liar. Lucas only continued, but he wasn’t bragging, and Janiyah could only think about how much trouble she would be in if she had done anything else but what she remembered. “Things got  **really** out of hand… someone broke the pool table. Some took a  **shit** on my Mom’s computer.” Janiyah held back a cough. “But the worst thing is that someone stole these old, antique photos of my Grandparents, and my parents are both freaking the fuck out about it.”

Janiyah had a thought.

Had she done that?

No… She wouldn’t have done that…

She would probably never be sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got nothing tbh because I'm tired and just ugh


	7. Battle Cry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It started out as a feeling, which then grew into a hope; which then turned into a quiet thought, which then turned into a quiet word. And then that word grew louder and louder, 'til it was a battle cry. I'll come back, when you call me. No need to say goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, boy.
> 
> 4477 words of pure shit. Enjoy yourselves, now.

7:12 A.M., November 6th, 20YZ

“You can’t do this.”

“Baby, we’re only going to be gone for a few days.”

“Can’t we go with you?”

“Asking that question over and over again isn’t going to change my answer, Adar. No is no.”

“But that isn’t far!”

“Life isn’t fair.”

Adar clenched her hands into fists and she stared across the island counter top at Indigo. She had her back to the teenaged monster, her eyes locked on something as she dug within the gigantic fridge. Finally, she found what she was looking for and Adar saw that it was a carton of orange juice. Indigo took a small swig and while she did so, Adar turned her attention towards th TV in the living room. The news was on, like it was every morning because Jasmine couldn’t get enough, and yet again it was focused on the town’s new curfew of eight o’clock, sharp, along with the need of reminding people why such a thing had just come up.

Some of them knew the truth, unlike others.

“Are you sure it’s safe to go?” Adar asked her adoptive Mother. “With the curfew and everything, I mean… do you trust us  **kids** to be serious with it? Like, half of my English class is out “sick”.”

Indigo sent Adar a look.

“You better be serious with it, or else you’re grounded.” Indigo explained in that authoritative tone she didn’t usually use. “I’m sure Oscar and I will be fine.” Adar rolled her eyes.

“Because Oscar is  **quite** the protector.”

“Be nice.” Indigo chastised, lowering her voice. They could both hear Oscar in the bathroom, talking to himself like he always did when he was preparing for something. “See? You want to be stuck in a hotel room with that?”

“I already live with  **that** .” Adar retorted, and Indigo let out a sigh.

“You’re not going.” She repeated, her voice stern. “Besides you have that project to work on. Something for art, right?”

“Science.” Adar corrected bitterly. “And it’s already done. See? I’m already ahead of the schoolwork. Missing a couple of days won’t kill me.”

“But leaving jasmine and the twins at home alone for a couple of days might kill them.” Indigo replied, cringing a bit “Remember what happened the last time we left them home alone, and only for a couple of hours?” Adar was reminded vaguely of smoke and a fire alarm piercing her ears, and she grimaced.

“They were young.” She insisted.

“They’re still young.” Indigo countered, and Adar refrained from pouting like a five year old. “We’re leaving this afternoon. We already have our plane tickets. I know you want to come, but I need you to stay here and watch your siblings, okay?” Adar then pouted, puffing her cheeks out as she did so and Indigo merely laughed. “You’ll be fine.”

“I’m sure. And you let the next door neighbour know that we’re home alone, so she’ll come check on us every now and then?” Adar questioned sarcastically, and Indigo actually nodded in response, much to Adar’s spite. “Seriously? I’m not a baby!”

“Then stop acting like one.” Indigo insisted, and Adar merely rolled her eyes again, getting up and making her way into the living room. “Don’t forget about school, please!”

Both Adar and Jasmine groaned.

 

* * *

11:46 A.M., November 6th, 20YZ

The wilds of Mount Ebott has always been tranquil, even when outcasts appeared out of nowhere in the midst of the surrounding trees and made their way to one of the elevated levels of the mountain. Fate was able to view the vast region covered in trees and if it wasn’t an urgent situation, she would’ve admired the view.

When she and the group came up to an opening in the mountside, leading to a natural chamber that held a bigger opening above them, allowing the sunlight to shine in. Visible in the center of the chamber was a large, circular chasm, the depths of which were dark.

“... Why are we here again?” Natia questioned fearfully, each of them looking down into the chamber, and everyone glanced towards Fate because she had lead them here.

“... Beginnings.” She responded simply, frowning into the chasm. “This is where everything started, so if we go in order, we should be able to find the heart of the problem.”

“Your siblings climbed this?” Mintie asked, all out of breath from the climb, and Fate simply gave a nod, causing the older girl to shake her head. “That’s insane, dude…”

Fate gave a shrug, taking a couple of steps back from the chasm.

“... If you want to be a hero, you have to take risks…” She mumbled, and then suddenly took a running start before jumping and plunging into the abyss. The group waited anxiously, and a moment later, a loud crash was heard from down below. Their hearts leaped out of their chests and they were about to call down, but Fate’s voice called up instead. “I’m okay! Flowers broke my fall!”

With that, each of them walked away and then ran forward one by one, taking the risk of possibly missing a small garden of golden flowers at the bottom of a seemingly endless chasm. Luckily, each of them made it down safely, the bed of golden flowers suffering greatly from their falls, but still thriving. No one said anything, merely continuing on and approaching the entrance to the ruins of what was once known as “Home” to all monsters trapped underground.

They were called ruins for a reason. There was ancient stone masonry and forgotten puzzles, which were disabled long ago, but at least there was the awe of the old monster capital. Their footsteps echoed throughout the halls and it only seemed to emphasize the empty space, especially now that all of the monsters had vacated the underground. They reached a small, quaint house at the center of the ruins, a single tree standing in the middle of the courtyard with leaves scattered about the ground around it, all different shades of autumn colors.

Fate had a feeling that she knew who lived here for so long.

The house was vacant and dark, but history was shown through the well-tended hardwood floors. They didn’t stay long, nor did they peek about, as they were only passing through the ruins and nt looking for anything there. The six of them continued their way downstairs from the foyer and went through the basement, which was more of a long, L-shaped hallway with a more pronounced echo. It was dark, but then got brighter, and they approached a big door at the end.

On the other side, they were greeted by the cold air of Snowdin. The snowy path lined with trees was ominous enough, but the bridge and sentry station in the distance only brought for more anxiety despite the underground no longer having inhabitants… or supposed to have none.

“Okay.” Fate decided, giving a nod to Callias, and he gave a nod in return before looking back at the group.

“Alright, so we all know the basic layout of the underground, right?” Callias questioned, and everyone gave him a nod in return. He had ran through it on the way here, but just had to make sure. “Okay. So we’ll split into two’s. Natia and Matteo, I want the both of you to cover right here: Snowdin and its surroundings. Kadin and Mintie, I want you girls to cover Waterfall. Fate and I will head out into Hotland, and by the time we’re all done, we’ll either have contacted one another with news or you’ll have made your way to where we are. We can all search New Home after that, if nothing is found.”

Everyone paused, taking in the information, and then gave nods, splitting off in two’s and starting to make their way to where they needed to be.

 

* * *

 

 

12:23 P.M., November 6th, 20YZ

The pair of cats entered a huge, nearly vacant lab, immediately feeling refreshing coolness wash over them. There wasn’t much left behind, but there were some machines left around because they were too troublesome to move to the surface. Not wanting to go back out into the heat, they moped around for a bit to cool down before heading off through Hotland. The puzzles were disabled, as was all the power, so there was no need for them to do much work other than walking through the long, complex cave and finding their way without getting lost. Hotland was complex, after all.

As they walked, Callias was no stranger to making conversation.

“So, we’re looking for the heart of the problem in Ebott?” Callias questioned, and Fate merely gave a nod. There was a pause, and then Callias spoke again. “We’ll just… know it when we see it?” There was another nod, and then another pause, but longer this time as they moved along. “... Is it possible that there’s nothing down here and that we’re just wasting time?”

“No. There’s something here.” Fate insisted, and Callias didn’t respond. “Just trust me… It all started here, so there has to be something. I just have this  **feeling** .”

“... And if you're feeling’s wrong..?” Callias asked delicately, and Fate went silent for a moment.

“... Then it's wrong.” She stated simply, and started to walk faster. Callias went to follow her, but she suddenly stopped and caused him to go crashing right into her. “... Look…”

Her arm raised slowly but surely, pointing out to something that had obviously caught her attention. Callias rolled his eyes a bit before following her gaze, and then realizing that her feeling had been right.

The Core was dark and crumbling in the distance, held together only by thin, dark vines that gave off big waves of… well, evil intent. It wasn't good, and they three figures staring out knew it. Two were scared and one was devastated at the sight of his invention, however.

Callias raised a walkie-talkie to his lips shakingly, breathing out.

“It’s the Core.”

 

* * *

 

 

12:58 P.M., November 6th, 20YZ

Politics had never been Chara’s kind of thing. It was more to Frisk’s liking and interest than theirs, but somehow, the two siblings had ended up in it together.

But Chara hated when Frisk was busy, and they had to take over ambassador issues on their own--like attend the court trial of a young adult monster. As far as they knew, he had shoplifted a serious amount because he was an orphan, and honestly didn't need a huge trial. But they and Asgore ended up in the courtroom anyways, dressed up all fancy and listening as things went on and on. Damn Frisk for having to take an important test today…

And then they thought of it, their saving grace if only for a moment. Tugging on Asgore’s sleeve, they leaned over and whispered into his ear that they needed to go to the bathroom, and so they took off after he was aware. They were old enough to go to the bathroom on their own anyways, for God’s sake…

The only problem was that when they were trying to come back into the courtroom, everyone suddenly erupted into madness and many people dashed out, pushing them aside as they went. They focused on staying out of the way and finding Asgore, but it was much harder to do than they had originally thought--and by then they had panicked because they had heard why everyone suddenly got riled up and ran. The alarm in the distance.

The Ebott police station had built an alarm system many years ago, but only recently rebooted it with different and better alarms that all had different means. There was one for tornadoes, one for earthquakes… and one for when supernatural creatures, who only a select group of people knew where they came from and what their intent was, decided to pop out and start attacking city people. It basically meant “get inside and stay safe”, but many people were too busy rushing out of the building and trying to get home to their families.

And Chara felt torn because their family was split up. Them and Agore were here, Toriel and Frisk were at school, Flowey was at home probably wondering what was going to happen, and all of their friends were many different places at the same time. They couldn't think straight, and they were smaller than everyone around them.

“Asgore!” Chara called out frantically, their voice drowning in the panicked voices around them. “ **Dad** !”

“Chara!” They heard in the distance, but it wasn't Asgore. It sounded familiar, but they still ill couldn't think straight. Everyone was pushing into them, knocking them back and forward, side to side. Eventually, they just fell to the ground because someone had crashed into them hard enough, and they merely sat their, hands on their head and breath shaking because so many people were coming at them at once…

Someone grabbed hold of their arms gently, yet firmly, and their head snapped up, making contact with familiar chocolate brown eyes that confused them.

“... Marcel..?” They questioned, unsure if they were just seeing him because they needed comfort from someone they knew or if he was actually there. They had no idea why he would be, or why Craig would come running up behind him with Asgore trailing behind, but by then, Chara didn't care. “Dad!”

Jumping up onto their feet, they rushed into their Father’s waiting arms and hugged him tightly, clutching at his suit jacket. He hugged them back gently, running his fingers through their hair and apologizing for not trying harder to find them in the crowd, but that was okay. Before long, Craig was ushering them to not stand around, promising to explain the situation on their way to their house.

“What about Frisk and Toriel?” Chara demanded a little angrily. “What about my friends?”

“We have that covered.” Craig promised as Marcel ushered them out the doors of the courthouse and into police car. Asgore was the only one who had trouble getting in until Craig had told him not to worry about scratching the car. It was insured.

“Buckle up.” Marcel warned more than anything, and he had just clicked in before Craig slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, taking off down the street with the lights and sirens on as a means of not getting shit on for going above the speed limit. He hit something in the process that caused two of the four to scream--a dog-like creature with rotting, dark skin, sharp teeth and eyes redder than Chara’s SOUL.

“We're simply calling them demon dogs for now.” Craig stated as if it was just another day for him. “They're overrunning town a lot quicker than we thought, but hey, it's not like we got a warning.”

“... What do we do..?” Chara wondered as they stared out at the tall high school in the distance, and Craig answered immediately.

“You'll know when we get to your place.”

 

* * *

 

 

1:15 P.M., November 6th, 20YZ

The Core was no longer what it used to be. It wasn't a power source for the whole underground, the saving grace of a generation and generations to come for the monsters trapped underground, but instead a nest of some sort for creatures that had only tried keeping a home due to the Abaddon being the only thing they had ever known. The darkness surrounding it was all-encompassing and the thought of even getting close to the Core had run through their minds as not a good idea, and yet their frightened little selves had made their way there. Just for a closer look.

Within minutes, they were ever so close and yet so far from the Core, finding themselves near the dark hotel that used to belong to someone who was now an ever-so-famous superstar. The colors of the Core appeared grimy and faded, looking more and more foreboding the closer they got, and Fate did her best to ignore the feelings of nausea and anxiety that were creeping up no her.

“Ya know, they say they guy who built that thing went insane. I’m not surprised, seeing how it’s turned out.” Matteo stated with a slight snap in his voice, and took a step back when Fate glared at him.

“The man who built this amazing machine that kept the underground running was a  **genius** . Even  **genius** people make mistakes, Matteo.” She snapped in return, causing him to hold up his paws in surrendering. It was also because he could have sworn that he saw someone behind Fate, just a ghostly figure, giving a fond smile over the young girl’s words.

“The real question--” Callias got between them, still unable to take his eyes off of the Core. “--is how are we gonna deal with that… and  **those** ?”

Looking towards the Core again, they all caught sight of the same kind of creatures scaling the walls of the huge sculpture, using and tending to the vines as if they were friends. They were all the same kind of creature--a dog-like creature with rotting, dark skin, sharp teeth and eyes redder than a SOUL full of determination, if that was even possible. None of them looked friendly, that was for sure.

“... We  **don’t** ?” Mintie asked hopefully, her voice going soft as if not to attract the attention of the dangerous creatures lurking about.

All of the sudden, the creatures all went stiff and rigid, taking a pause before letting out demonic howls that sent shivers down each one of their spines. Right after, however, they all took off to the other side of the Core, and they were all confused for a moment before it clicked into place.

The creatures were heading for the surface, which meant that everyone in Ebott was in trouble.

“Oh fuck, oh shit, shit, shit…” Natia trailed off, lifting her head to her head and running her fingers through her already messy hair. “Oh God, this is bad!”

“No shit!” Mintie spat back, fiddling with her gloves, and they were all frozen in place for a moment…

“Fire.” Kadin suddenly spoke up, giving each of them a shock because she usually didn’t speak. None of them really understood, but Fate got the hint after a moment, her eyes widening and breaking into sparkles as she smiled.

“ **Fire** .” She repeated slowly before quickly pulling out her lighter, moving her paws urgently. “Give me something to burn!”

Mintie removed her bandanna and passed it over, splitting her hair down the middle and resting it over her shoulders before suddenly pulling up a hood attached to her dress that Fate hadn’t noticed before, resembling the same bear on her bandanna. It was a sacrifice they could make, and so she balled up the bandanna tightly, sticking a rock in the middle so it would actually be capable of being thrown. Flicking open her lighter, she gave each and every one of them a look, knowing that they were ready to run, and then looked to the ghostly figure beside her.

The Core was Gaster’s greatest creation, wasn’t it? She felt awful, just thinking of burning it down…

“Light it up.” Gaster suddenly permitted her, and she gave him a look, but he only returned it with a smile. “It’s no longer mine, but I’d rather it be remembered that way.”

She paused, and then gave a nod, flicking open her lighter. With a deep breath and quick actions, Fate had set the bandanna on fire and threw it to the entrance of the core covered with vines, thus setting the whole place on fire because of the dark, ominous strings of connection. Many creatures came running back, but by then, they had all made a run for it.

A run for the surface.

 

* * *

 

 

6:30 P.M., November 6th, 20YZ

“Okay, so it’s my roll?”

Chara rolled their eyes, not even having wanted to be apart of this Monopoly game with so many people held up in their house and such dangerous creatures running about outside. They were supposed to sit back and wait for the official, keeping the curtains drawn, the light dim, and the sound low. Rovia had pretty much driven a paddy wagon full of certain people all the way here--those people being the Pickering children, the Cameron children, the Rose children, the two youngest Binchdt’s, the Blake children, Bailey Morris, Isabella Pierce, and Grace Wrightson.

Now everyone was inside and scared out of their minds… but playing Monopoly.

This was stupid, Chara thought. They knew some magic--they had been training with Sans for a reason--and monsters were made of such, so why couldn’t they fight? Police had weapons for a reason. But Rovia had said no, and that seemed to be the final word.

So now, they were waiting it out for the proper authorities, if they had even believed them and were going to come. It was a waiting game, and more than less of them didn’t like it.

“... Rovia.” Marcel addressed carefully from across the room, everyone going quiet and watching as the older man turned his head ever so slightly at the younger boy’s voice. “It’s, um… It’s nearly been six hours since you called… I don’t think they’re coming…”

Rovia didn’t respond, and Marcel’s shoulders dropped in shame, but Craig rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. Everything had stopped, the reality of the situation setting in, and Craig made his way over to Rovia, not daring the reach out his hand. He simply fiddled with his butterfly knife and stood as tall as he could behind the older man.

“... Rovia.” Craig addressed sternly, and then Rovia suddenly snapped around, a frown pulling at his lips as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. Craig didn’t back away. “... They're not coming. We have to take action, or we’ll be stuck here forever.”

“And what exactly do we do, Craig?” Rovia asked with a snap, but Craig didn’t step back from his spot, simply speaking up.

“We have weapons for a reason.” Craig responded, his voice still in the same tone and at the same volume. “And I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but magic has evolved. If we don’t use our resources and fight, how can we call this our town--if there’s anything left by the end of this?”

Rovia went silent and turned to look back out the curtain like he had been doing this whole time, but Craig suddenly grabbed his arm and yanked him back around, causing Rovia to become angry.

“What do you want from me!?” Rovia demanded, but Craig only yelled back, and many of them back away because they both had a temper that wasn’t to be messed with.

“I want you to step up and be the sheriff you say you are!” Craig yelled, causing Rovia to frown angrily at him, but he didn’t stop there. “ **You** started the race into the war with the Abaddon! You weren’t scared then, but suddenly their little creatures come out and you’re  **scared** ? What the Hell happened to Rovia Monroe, because you sure as Hell aren’t the guy I remember!”

Rovia had gone stiff halfway through Craig’s yelling, taking a step back, but then suddenly snapped forward when Craig accused him of being different from three years ago.

“ **Because we lost someone, Craig** !” Rovia yelled, nearly at the top of his lungs, and everyone’s mood dropped immediately. Everyone had stopped entirely, no sound and no movement aside from Rovio's heavy breathing because he was so taken aback by Craig’s yelling. “... The last time we tried something risky, we lost someone. We lost a little girl who had so much life ahead of her, and we  **still haven’t done anything about it** ! No apologies, no memorial--we  **forgot** about her because it was such a dangerous situation!”

“Just  **shut up** !” Chara suddenly screamed, getting onto their feet. “We’re the children here,  **not you** ! You have  **no right** to talk about Fate because she did more for this town than you’ll ever do, holding up here like a  **coward** !”

Rovia opened his mouth to speak, throwing his hands up into the air, but there was suddenly a familiar growling around the house. It was at the front door, then by the main window, then around the kitchen window, and then around the back door, because one of the demon dogs had heard them and was now circling for dinner--for  **them** . Everyone immediately readied themselves, knowing the dog would fight to get in, and all of the kids were pushed into the middle of a circle of adults, much to Chara and Adar’s annoyance. Jasmine had grabbed a candlestick just in case things turned for the worst, which no one could blame her for.

Standing in silence for what felt like forever, everyone was startled when the rotting dog came crashing through the living room window, slamming into the wall by the TV, but no longer moved. It twitched maybe once or twice, but after that, it just lied there. Taking cautious steps forward, everyone realized that it was indeed dead when Craig had kicked it only to gain no reaction it return. They all let out breaths of relief… but then the door rattled.

Turning sharply back the way they had been before, everyone watched in shock and fear as the chain on the door moved by itself, becoming unlocked. In the next second after that, the lock on the door clicked open, and everyone was prepared for the absolute worst to come through the front door of the Dreemurr household.

So imagine their surprise when the door opened with nothing touching it, only for someone with little red sneakers to come walking through the door. Their eyes were trained on that first because it had been the first thing they saw, but as the figure moved in, their eyes trailed up to the dark green socks, the jeans with cuffs covered in black, sharpie-doodled stars, the familiar red and black flannel that they hadn’t seen in three years. And then the nosebleed that wasn’t as severe as it had been, and the familiar gray fur and sapphire blue eyes of the one they had all lost at one point or another.

No one moved as she stood in the doorway, eyes wide in relief, and remembrance, and regret. She had missed them every single day, for 1055 days, and the one person who had called her for every single day…

Chara stepped forward, in shock at first, but as they were given a very familiar smile despite the years that had passed, they couldn’t help but smile back in both relief and happiness as they addressed her for the first time in nearly three years.

“...  **_Fate_ ** …”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Update]  
> WOW, I CHANGED THE SUMMARY HAHA


	8. The Start of a Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I don’t pay attention to the world ending. It has ended for me many times… and started again in the morning."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hEY I'M BACK, KINDA

6:45 P.M., November 6th, 20YZ

Fate and Chara were locked in a tearful hug the moment before everyone registered that Fate Dreemurr had actually returned. That she had never been dead in the first place, that she had only disappeared, and that some of them had not just been hearing things from over a walkie-talkie. One way or another each of them had their fair share of shock in their SOULs, even as Chara pulled away from their sibling with a happy smile.

“I never gave up on you.” They promised, smoothing out some of her unkempt fur. “I called you  **every day** . Every day for--”

“1055 days.” Fate cut off, her voice shaking a bit from the emotion of being able to see her loved ones again. Chara was barely shocked upon hearing that she had been listening. “91, 152, 000 seconds. 1, 519, 200 minutes. 23, 320 hours. 150 weeks and five days, which is 289.04% of a common year.”

Chara only smiled in return.

“... I missed you…” They mumbled with a light laugh, and she couldn’t help but smile in return before they frowned a bit. “But… why didn’t you respond until yesterday?”

“Because I wouldn’t let her.”

All eyes turned to a relieved Craig and an ashamed Marcel, but the doctor didn’t hesitate in going forward when Chara backed away. He knelt down and gave the young girl a side-hug, to which she returned.

“Where have you been?” He demanded, not as angry as she thought, but still a little agitated. She responded truthfully.

“Seeing some friends.” She responded as if she hadn’t just spent nearly three years in a cabin, left to Chicago on her own, and came back from Chicago only to kill a demon dog dramatically or reunite with her family. Chara was furious, though.

“... You’ve been hiding her.” They had realized alongside everyone else just a moment ago, and when he had let go of Fate, they had stomped forward, pushing Craig despite his stature against theirs. “ **You’ve been** **_hiding_ ** **her** !”

“ **Hey** !” Craig snapped, grabbing Chara’s wrists to stop them from swinging and hitting. “Listen to me. Marcel and I were  **protecting** her.”

“Oh, Marcel, too!?” Chara asked, snapping their head angrily in the boys direction before looking back at Craig, and by then, Fate was beyond upset.

“The more people who know about her, the more danger she’s in.” Craig only continued, not phased by the fifteen year old freaking out. “And the more danger you and your family are in.”

“So I should be  **thanking** you!?” They demanded, looking ready to just spit in his face, but Craig shook his head sternly.

“I’m not asking you to thank me. I’m asking you to try and  **understand** .” Craig responded, finally letting go of the teen as they pulled away, obviously offended and even more angry. “And if you don’t understand, that’s fine. That’s  **fine** !” He had turned to look over everyone, because he could feel their anger and betrayal as well. “Just…  **do not** blame her. She’s upset enough as it is.”

Fate was in shock. All of this, and that’s what he had to beg with? Yes, she was upset, but she was able to see her family in a time of need, that’s all that mattered right now.

“I don’t blame her! I blame you!” Chara yelled, making it clear, and hearing padded footsteps that didn’t belong to any of them, Fate quickly closed the door with her magic and locked it up again, albeit she was left baffled by what to do about the broken window. Not her best choice, that was for sure. “ **I blame you** !”

“That’s okay, kid.” Craig assured with a grin that held a lot of pain behind it, holding his hands up as if to surrender. “That’s okay.”

Everyone went quiet after that, many of them still or now in tears, but many of the kids rushed forwards anyways, giving their returned friend the tightest hugs she had ever received. She was beyond okay with it.

“We missed you.” Danny admitted for all of them, and Fate couldn’t help but snort over it, nodding a bit. “We talked about you pretty much every day.” They all pulled away one by one, some with tears in their eyes and others merely smiling, and she gave Danny an odd look.

“Every day?” She questioned, sounding a little concerned. “About me, or about how I broke Keisha’s arm?” She still quite clearly remembered that, but her group of friends laughed lightly in response to it.

“About how cool you are, taking down a monster with a broken arm and a tired mind!” Chandler corrected with a bright smile, entirely ecstatic to have Fate back despite the situation at hand. “Also, telekinesis is just straight  **awesome** !”

Despite the pain behind the memories and the overwhelming emotions of everything going on, Fate couldn’t help but return Chandler’s bright smile. It was beyond contagious, even as Toriel finally shook off her shock and rushed forward to embrace her previously missing child in the second biggest hug she had ever given. Chara remembered it as the same hug they had received when Frisk brought them back, except with less intensity because their returning entrance hadn’t been as dramatic or crowded, and they remembered bursting into tears as well; that was something Fate had done just seconds after having the brightest smile on her face that any of them had seen in the near three years she had been gone.

When Toriel pulled back, caressing Fate’s face as if it were a masterpiece, the young girl spoke through her tears with more hope than anyone since Chara.

“I know I’m not alone.” She spoke simply, as if it wasn’t supposed to mean much, but many of them still plainly remembered that Toriel had promised Fate she wasn’t alone. Fate remembered that more than any of them, and Toriel wrapped her in a tighter hug--one of reassurance, because it was still true. It wasn’t a long hug this time, but it was still as powerful. Toriel only pulled away because of the important situation that needed to be addressed.

“Do you know what is going on?” Toriel questioned, wiping the tears from her eyes despite still kneeling in front of her youngest, and Fate seemed to pause for a moment before she turned to Craig. It was simply because she knew that he would know what she meant.

“The gateway has to be closed.” She told him, but Marcel suddenly jumped in, throwing his hands about as he moved and spoke.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, the house is torn down! The Abaddon, as a place, is  **gone** !” Marcel insisted, but Fate took a deep breath and shook her head, causing Marcel to ball up both of his hands and hold them close to his chest. It was almost as if he was about to pray.

“The house is gone. The gateway remains.” Craig stated, sounding a bit like he hoped he was wrong, but Fate nodded to confirm that he was indeed correct. “... So, what do we do, then?” There was a pause, and then Fate spoke up again.

“We have to go there and close the gate. I can do it with my magic.” Fate responded, and instead of denying like she thought he would, Craig merely gave an exasperated nod.

“Let’s just do this and return to the most normal life we can get.” Craig decided, and he managed to get a nod from everyone. “... Kids aren’t coming and they need adults to look after them, so I’m taking Marcel and Fate and that’s it.”

“No!” Nearly everyone yelled out at that, multiple voices talking over each other to try and get a word in, but Craig threw his arms about to quiet everyone down. Yet, even Marcel wasn’t too sure.

“Craig,  **just us** ? We’re the tiniest little army, perhaps even the weakest, against all those demon dogs out there.” Marcel explained to him, and before Craig could even get a word out, footsteps made their way into the doorway. Guns were raised… but from both ends, until they all realized that no demon dogs were getting in.

Especially with all the demon dog blood covering the gang Fate had brought in from Chicago.

“... Somebody mentioned an army?” Mintie asked in a cheeky tone, leaning against the weakening door frame, and Craig and Fate looked at each other with Marcel in between. Craig held out his arms towards the Chicago gang in a tired, questioning way, and Fate held up a pointer finger towards them in a way that only gave off the sense of “well, you did ask”. She took off towards the small group before anyone could ask, and Craig simply rolled with it, addressing the rest of the group.

“Stay here. Obviously, the Abaddon is not like it was before with all this crap going on.” He told them all, and they all went to argue, but he lifted a hand to shush them. “...  **Stay** .”

No one bothered to argue as Craig turned to leave, Marcel following quickly behind him after Toriel showed him the key to lock the door, promising to do so. They all watched helplessly as Fate took a step out, not knowing if she would ever take another step back in again, but she turned back with a promising smile.

“You can’t protect everyone.” Adar spat out before she could stop herself, not wanting her friend to walk out and possibly not return again, but Fate merely gave a sad nod in reply.

“... I have to try.” She said as if she was telling herself to do so, and then she hesitated to leave. Her heel bounced on the step like she was ready to move, but she hadn’t despite looking forward. Then, she snapped her head back towards them again, and they were able to realize something.

She didn’t want to go either, with the possibility of not being able to return, but she had to. After all, they weren’t supposed to just let the world die.

“... The Devil’s got nothing on me.” She seemed to promise, a cheeky smile replacing the sad one, and then just like that, she was bouncing down the steps to save Ebott once again.

 

* * *

Night had fallen fast. No more than an hour ago the sky was painted with hues of red orange and pink, but all the color had faded to leave only a matt black canvas with no stars to be looked upon. The darkness was thick and the lit paths barely allowing anyone to see just made Fate’s already poor eyesight even worse. In fact, she had bumped into a trash can earlier while they were all walking--simply because driving would attract far too much attention--and had to ignore the countless comments of keeping quiet or possibly needing glasses.

Other than the darkness and the group, all that seemed to exist was the chilly wind that’s harsh bite could be felt through her clothes, leaving goosebumps in its path. Of course, there were also the distant howls and growls of the demon dogs running free through the town that made her blood run cold and her bones go a bit chilled. Every creature was sheltering; the birds had either flown south or had better things to do than sing, and there wasn’t anyone else for what seemed like miles.

And the silence of the group.

She knew that tensing against the shaking of her limbs was useless, but she did it instinctively, trying to suppress for a few more moments what she knew she could not. This kind of thick silence worked like a salve, letting her feel it; the more absolute it was, the stronger its medicinal effect. It was as if they were all conspiring to keep her in the dark, not daring to whisper the reassurance she craved, despite her knowing of the looks they all shared, awkward and yet frequent. She didn’t think that a gang of misfits from Chicago and a pair of officers could get along even with their ties to her, but she had been hoping… and had been let down. Craig wasn’t amused to have a gang of delinquent teens on his heels, said delinquent teens weren’t amused to be working alongside officers because of their crimes, and Marcel was just being Marcel--anxious and alert. Fate couldn’t help but wonder how hard Tyler must’ve been laughing right now, considering that he had hidden himself from her at the moment. She couldn’t blame him with all the demon dogs running around.

But Craig suddenly felt like talking, just as she was telling herself that the silence was probably a good thing.

“So, what--we’re just not gonna talk about it?” Craig demanded out of nowhere, glancing over his shoulder to look straight down at her. A shiver went down her spine, but she wasn’t sure quite sure anymore whether it was from the cold, the silence, or Craig’s tone.

“About what?” She huffed, cringing at her whiny tone that sounded far too much like Keisha. At least it sounded like Keisha on a good day, that had to count for something.

“Oh, I don’t know.” Craig started, his tone full of sarcasm and his steps turning into a big of a slow, twisted walk as if he was taking a stroll through the park. “I’m just curious, you know, why all of a sudden, you’re friends with some MTV punks.”

Matteo opened his loud mouth to speak, but Callias gave a swift back-slap to his liver that made him squeak instead. Craig merely ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath, and his tone changed to sincerity as he fixed his walking.

“I’m not mad, kid. I just want to know where you’ve been and why you’re always making good ties with misfits.” Craig sighed, and Fate couldn’t help but hang her head with a slight shrug. “I know that you believe in the best for everyone, but… Jesus, where did you  **go** ?”

The silence returned for a moment, and Fate crossed her arms tightly over her chest with another shiver. It was definitely from the chilly night air.

“Chicago.” Fate responded, albeit that was obvious, so she elaborated. “... To track down my Aunt, but she’s not well, so I went to Cal and the others instead. I figured seeing Auntie… she could point me towards the rest of my family--who are alive and well contrary to my previous belief--but… she wouldn’t have been able to.”

Craig and Marcel both stared forward, and Fate could only imagine the shocked expressions on their faces. Well, they must’ve been shocked at first, but when their heads turned a bit as if they were locking gazes, she was sure that they had an expression somewhere along the lines of “we fucked up”.

“... Okay.” Craig managed to get out, and paused for a moment before speaking again. “How’d you get there?”

“A bus.” Fate replied immediately, but Craig obviously still had some questions about the details behind that, so she elaborated a bit. “A big bus.” Just a bit.

“A big truck--whose truck was it?” Craig questioned, sounding a bit agitated with Fate’s way of answering. She responded nonetheless.

“A nice woman’s.” She told him, and before he could ask another question, she continued on. “It costed fifty dollars, which I snagged off a snotty business guy who crashed into me and wouldn’t need it.”

There was a long silence that followed and made her eight little fingers cramp a bit, and then Craig spoke again.

“Okay. So, let me just get this straight in my head.” Craig nearly demanded, sounding beyond agitated at this point. Fate couldn’t find it within her to be ashamed. It had happened; that was that. “So a nice woman in a big bus, for fifty whopping  **stolen** dollars, she drove you to Chicago… and then what? Your… Your Aunt Casmyr sent you off to a gang of misfits who I certainly know about because they have caused  **so** much trouble down in Chicago?”

Fate wasn’t sure, by the end of Craig’s near lecture, if he was agitated or confused. She always got those mixed up with him because for both, he threw his hands about and puffed up his chest and ran his hands through his hair as if he couldn’t afford a hairbrush, but needed to meet with the Queen of England or something of the sort. Instead of explaining like she probably should have, she simply spoke to him softly, her voice barely a sound over their footsteps.

“... I shouldn’t have left.” She was pretty much telling herself, picking at the bandages along her arms like she always did when she got anxious. There was another pause for silence before Craig broke it once more, but his words sounded more like something Marcel would say instead of him.

“No, this isn’t on you, kid.” He sighed, fiddling with the sleeves of his tie-dye hoodie--an anxious habit of his. “We should’ve been there. We should’ve never kept it all a secret from you… and I never should’ve lied about when you could leave. There’s… a lot of things I shouldn’t have done.” He inhaled sharply, lifting his head to look at the stars, only to find that there were none. “... I kinda feel like a black hole.”

“... Black hole?” Fate questioned, both curiously and oddly because she had never heard of such a thing before. Kadin suddenly started explaining before she could stop herself.

“It’s a thing in the middle of outer space that sucks everything towards it and destroys it.” She explained, and when silence took over, she cleared her throat in an apology and lowered her head.

“Aifric had a picture book on outer space. She loved it.” Craig said, almost in a way that reassured Kadin that it was alright for her to have spoken. However, Fate only got more confused.

“... Who’s Aifric?” She questioned, and truth be told, Craig and Marcel were the only ones who had an answer for that. Marcel turned a bit as if he was going to explain, but Craig grabbed onto his elbow to turn him back around.

“Aifric is my sister.” He responded simply, and Marcel gently pulled his arm out of Craig’s grasp, rubbing it in slight shame. “She’s my little sister.” A moment passed, simply because Fate didn’t know what to say, and then it broke as she spoke up softly.

“... Where is she?” She asked, pulling on her sleeves nervously because she expected more silence, but Craig responded right away.

“That’s kind of the thing, kid. She, uh…” Craig trailed off a bit, more focused on watching where he was walking instead of answering her question. “She left us.” There was a quick pause as everyone simply stared forward or down, no one looking at another person.

“... Gone.” Fate stated, rubbing her cold, sweaty palms on her jeans, and Craig gave a simple nod.

“Yah. The black hole kinda… got her.” He responded just as simply, and they all expected that to be it, but instead, Craig wiped his nose and kept talking. “And somehow… I’ve just been scared since then. I’ve just been scared that it might take you as well.” Fate finally looked up at Craig, even if he wasn’t looking back down at her. “I think that’s why I get… so  **mad** all the time.”

There was a slight chuckle in his voice, and Fate’s heart dropped a bit upon watching Marcel give Craig a small pat on the back, hearing a small sniffle form one of them. She thought it might’ve been Marcel, but at the same time, Marcel never sniffle.d He either cried, or he didn’t.

“... I’m so sorry. For everything.” Craig apologized with a slight shake in his voice, and her heart nearly leapt. Instead of leaping, however, it gave a small jump and then simply sunk further. “Sometimes, I can be so… so…” He couldn’t find the right word, so she jumped in for him.

“Stupid?” She asked, her voice suddenly shaking like his, and he gave a light laugh, pulling one of his baggy sleeves down and lifting a hand to his face with a stern nod.

“Yah. Stupid.” He confirmed, laughing at himself more than anything. “Just really stupid.”

The silence returned, but this time, it was accompanied by a content feeling as Fate quickened her pace a little bit to be between Craig and Marcel. She lifted her paw up, having to stretch a decent amount in order to grab his hand, but he leaned a bit as he grasped it firmly in return so they could continue to walk comfortably.

“... I’ve been stupid, too.” She promised him softly.

He gave a light chuckle as they all continue down the dimly lit sidewalks of Ebott, feeling much more content now than they had when they first set out.

Even with knowing that their destination was the next block ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, but have i mentioned that i love craig?
> 
> also, don't expect the group that stayed behind to actually stay in place. like hell they will.


	9. Little Lost Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once upon a time, there was a very scared little girl.
> 
> But one day, the little girl grew up and discovered that the only way to stop being scared…
> 
> Was to become scary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't the best chapter, but I did my best.
> 
> It's probably bad because I got news that my cousin's wedding is being moved to the upcoming new year (May 4th, 2018) instead of the year after (2019) because my Aunt Sherry isn't doing all too good. She has a brain tumor, bone cancer, and some other cancer that I can't remember (I think lung??).  
> We thought she was doing better with chemo and all, but now we're not too sure, so that's great fun.
> 
> Either way, I hope you enjoy the chapter. The next chapter will be the end of the arc!

8:13 P.M., November 6th, 20YZ

“Alright, it should fit now.”

“Danny, is this really necessary?”

“Yes it is, okay!? This is a ground-breaking scientific discovery! We can’t just bury it like some common mammal, got it? It’s not actually a dog!”

Adar gave a groan, moving towards the fridge with the dead demon dog wrapped in a blanket, carried in her arms. Toriel was standing in the doorway, shaking her head at the mess Danny and Amber had made by cleaning out the fridge--and all for a dead demon dog. Nonetheless, Adar mumbled out a small apology before slamming the corpse into the fridge, albeit the dead weight pushed back, and Danny ended up having to help. When the pair had managed to finally get it a bit secure, they quickly shuffled away and Amber shut the fridge door, hiding the “scientific discovery” from all eyes.

Toriel shook her head a bit at the three kids and moved back into the living room. Everyone was doing their own things to either stay calm or help clean up the slight mess that had been made, but there was someone who simply wouldn’t stop staring out the window much like before: Rovia. Jasmine and Chandler were doing their best to sweep up the broken glass. Akina, being one of the tallest out of all the kids there, decided to team up with Ine to wash the still wet demon dog blood off of the wall beside the TV.

Instead of sitting down and relaxing, Toriel made her way over to Rovia, who barely spared her a glance before continuing to look out the window. She didn’t really find any reason to be offended over it, so she simply stood with him, staring out the window at the dim streets of Ebott. It was a dark time.

“... It is quite silent, no?” Toriel questioned, although she didn’t get a reply--and she didn’t exactly need one. “... I do hope that nothing goes wrong.”

“It will.” Rovia spoke up just then, and Toriel didn’t comment. She merely listened. “You weren’t out there. This town is swarming with hundreds of those demon dogs.”

“The situation will tide over one way or another. Craig and Marcel will take care of the children.” Toriel insisted, but could see from the corner of her eye that Rovia was rolling both of his. “... Although, it is not like those children need protection.”

“I still say we should’ve gone.” Chara snapped from their spot on the stairs, their leg bouncing up and down uncomfortably with worry. Aiden merely sighed, walking up a couple of steps before sitting down beside his friend, lifting his hands before speaking.

“Listen, Chara: a coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it.” Aiden insisted, and Chara paused before looking up at their friend with an expression of “what the fuck”.

“Okay, first of all, this isn’t some stupid sports game.” Akian spoke up with a heavy sigh, throwing a wet rag down into the bucket of water Ine had filled up in the kitchen. “And second, we’re not even in the game. We’re on the bench.”

“So my point is…” Aiden stammered for a moment, and then managed to pull his words together. “Right, yah, we’re on the bench, so, uh, there’s nothing we can possibly do.”

Nearly everyone groaned, shaking their heads or rolling their eyes as they all slumped in defeat… until Melina spoke up.

“That’s not entirely true.” She said, and everyone looked at her, either confused or interested. “I mean… I’m sure that these demon dogs have a hive mind of some sort--we’re learning about that stuff in science right now--and I’m sure that they all came here… because they were called here. Like, they didn’t show up until just now, and all together somehow.”

“So, if we get their attention…” Lena caught on to what Melina was trying to explain, and Leo snapped his fingers. If a lightbulb could appear over his head, it would.

“Maybe we can draw them away from where the group is going: clear a path to the gateway.” He finished, but Rovia suddenly snapped his head away from the window, turning around sharply.

“Yah, and then we all die.” He told them, but Chara quickly stood up, shaking their head.

“That’s only one point of view.” They argued, and Grace picked up where Leo left off.

“We just have to find our way into their… tunnels, or whatever is going on.” She explained, looking around for a moment before grabbing a book and throwing it down, putting a socked foot on top of it. “My foot is on what we’ll call the hub, got it?” Many of them nodded. “Okay, so the hub is like… a Mother pig! You have all the kids attached to the Mom because of natural needs, right? Say we send the Mother pig to the slaughterhouse--”

“Oh my goodness--” Toriel barely managed to get out before Maggie caught on to what Grace meant.

“All the kids would come to stop us!” Maggie finished for Grace, who gave a frantic nod, and Danny jumped in.

“We can circle back to the exit and by the time they would realize that we’re gone, Fate and the others would be at the gateway.” He wrapped it all up, and everyone had a moment of pure genius, but then Rovia shook his head, speaking up in confrontation.

“This is not happening.” He told all of them, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the window frame. Many of them opened their mouths to argue, but Rovia didn’t leave room for them to do so. “No arguments! We’re staying here.”

There was a pause, although no one knew how long it dragged on for before one of the people everyone least expected to argue did just that.

“I am scared.” Toriel suddenly admitted out loud.

No one knew why she was saying it or why she was admitting it to Rovia more so than anyone else. A steady bead of sweat ran along the side of his face, but whether it was from the horror of the situation or Toriel admitting something so deep to him of all the people in the house… once again, no one knew. All they knew was that Toriel had that defining posture of a Queen that she could never get rid of when making an important decision, whether she had dropped the title long ago or not.

“I have faced such dastardly situations many time before and won. I have saved others over and over, but right now the forces converging on my child's position have us all outnumbered. I have never asked any of my children to defend themselves in a violent way, and I have never acted in such… but we must  **open our eyes** .” Toriel insisted, clasping her paws in front of her as if it made a difference. To all of them watching closely, it struck a little more fear into their hearts. “We must not bury our heads in the sand this time. These creatures know where we are, who we are, who we love… and that’s our guilt right there. Fate loves each and every single one of us, so what are we supposed to do in return--sit here?”

Rovia was sweating rivers by now, barely able to keep steady on his feet, and he lowered his head, wiping at his nose that threatened to run. He had both of his hands of his hips otherwise, but not out of authority. It was mostly of of shame and the fact that he wasn’t sure what else to do with them.

“I will not help myself and stay out of the line of fire just to lose another child.”

Toriel had decided, and the kids started to exchange ecstatic looks and nods. They would get to carry out their plan! To Hell with sitting around and waiting for others to do whatever jobs given to them, they had a job of their own.

“You know what to do, Officer Monroe…” Toriel told him in a low tone, bowing her head to him in thanks for trying to protect them. They were all simply to stubborn for him. “... you just need the courage to do it.”

 

* * *

 

 

It was easy to imagine a castle, more ancient than any bone. The once smooth rock would be pitted and scarred. The old man of the hill would know how fleeting time is, how soon the present becomes the past and the important becomes the irrelevant. On the ancient site, only the trees would know of the centuries blown past in the winds of each season and would’ve witnessed the folly of struggles.

In the dim light, it was easy for Fate to imagine an ancient castle being torn down, turned into a house that would become scary to children and home to sorrow, before becoming what was in front of her. Just grass… plain brown, rotten grass. Rotten to the point where if you took one wrong step, you’d lose a shoe to the sticky, rotting ground of a supernatural gateway. She tried convincing herself that she was just reading another one of Toriel’s old books, but it was quite hard to do such a thing when she was standing among it. Craig had told her to hurry up and close the gateway before experiencing firsthand what it was like to lose a shoe to the rotting ground underneath them, albeit all he had to say on the matter of having one shoe left and a grass-stained sock was that the rotting was sticky. And it didn’t help that there were only a few demon dogs wandering about, making her anxious because there should’ve been more. And yet, there had only been about three or four as they approached, and then it was all distant growling like it had been before.

She wasn’t close enough, and to get close enough, all she had was a couple of flashlights to shine a path on where it was safe to take a step. It would be awhile before she got close enough to close the gateway safely, but none of them had the time for that, so at the very end of it all, each and every one of them were simply frustrated.

Until there was a bark, and hey all snapped their heads and flashlights up at once to see what kind of dog it came from. To their relief and confusion, it hadn’t come from one of the demon dogs, but instead, a small, fluffy, white dog with two black, beady little eyes that shined with excitement and mischief. It was in front of the gateway, given the shine on its fur, and yet it seemed to not know what kind of trouble it could’ve been in. It simply barked again, and their confusion only grew deeper.

“... What the  **fuck** ?” Matteo questioned for all of them, and before anyone could try to answer, the dog was barking away and running in circles as if to try and catch its own tail. Whatever it was trying to do, it was mostly just making too much noise with its yippy little voice. “I swear to whatever God is watching, if this annoying dog doesn’t shut up--”

“His name is Toby.” Fate suddenly got out, her head tilted a little bit, and no one knew whether to look at her or the dog ahead, panting and wagging its tail like one of them had a treat. And here’s a fun fact: none of them had any food or toys on them.

“Why should we care what its name is?” Craig questioned, more confused than annoyed although he soundly slightly irritated.

The dog just then suddenly stopped all its noise and actions, staying still and quiet. A couple of them were sure that the apocalypse was about to start with those two little beady, black eyes staring into their SOULs, but then the dog ran towards them. It zigged, and zagged, and… zopped?... until it was circling around Fate. Then, in a moment of… uh, pure brilliance, let’s say… the dog ran back towards the gateway, still as excited as ever.

And Fate, somehow, seemed to understand what it meant. She grabbed Callias’ flashlight, with ease considering his confusion about this damned dog, and pointed it at the ground in front of her feet as she ran after the white ball of fluff. The others wanted to follow, but she had dashed too far for them to do so without possibly stepping somewhere they shouldn’t. All they could do was shout as the young child ran after the annoying dog.

It sounded like it could be a children’s book, if not for their situation. “The Telekinetic Cat and the Annoying Dog”... then again, maybe not.

Nonetheless, somehow, “Toby”--as Fate had said his name was, as if she understood him, and was he even a he? How did she know this?--had managed to pinpoint all the safe spots to step and had lead Fate running and jumping towards the gateway. He managed to make it there first, and when she caught up to him, all he wanted in return were some nice pats. She gladly agreed, although she didn’t pet him long enough and promised to do so later--after she closed the gateway.

It had a dream-like quality, standing in front of the gateway and staring down at it. It was a crack in the ground, but more complex and more terrifying. It was disorientating, in a way, but it wasn’t enough to make her leave. She hadn’t started this, but she sure as Hell could end it. When Toby barked again, however, she noticed how hesitant she was. She didn’t know whether it was out of fear or simply just hesitation, although she wasn’t sure why she was hesitating either way. Toby continued to bark, and it wasn’t until he bit down and pulled on her pant leg that she realized he was trying to speak to her, in which she flicked her ear to show that she was listening now.

“ **_Where you wander; none have walked before. The scars that mark your body are strange to all living creatures. The abuse you have suffered at your own hand and those of others brought forth more tears than any dam could possibly hold. But strangely enough, you have found yourself. You have learned to cling to that self in hurricanes and rain. You have learned to fight every moment: to remember. Because that is life; just a long cycle of remembering and forgetting, and surviving… but you don’t just survive. You live, and those around you live as well._ ** ”

How he said all that without moving his mouth, Fate had no idea. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know, but she was certainly relieved that her paws had stopped shaking. The only shaking was in her SOUL, but not from fear. Instead, it was from the hope Toby had given her. So, with confidence for the first time in a long time, Fate raised one of her little paws towards the gateway.

She was  **DETERMINED** to make the promise of a better future more than just a promise.

The gateway reacted almost immediately, trying to force itself open even more, but she fought back, feeling the usual blood starting to run from her nose. She didn’t bother to try and wipe it away because she knew that a bloody nose was the least of her concerns, and that it would be running more blood by the end of us. She had barely just started the battle and already, dangerous creatures from the other side of the gateway were reacting to her magic--and to her trying to close their path to destruction of a nearly innocent world.

Her paw was already shaking awfully from the exerting feeling of all her magic power trying to focus on one big thing, which was closing the gateway. Against such a force, she was already losing no matter if it was simply a horrifying crack in the ground where a house used to stand, and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She tried to focus, to remember what pushed her magic to work, just  **anything** to get her through this successfully…

And the memory of a voice came, guiding her thoughts.

_ I want you to find something that angered you, or angers you now. Channel it. _

She thought about where everything started: when she was taken from her home, thrown into a river, and dragged out shivering and scared somewhere down the line. When she was stripped of everything that made her who she was back then, just a scared little girl, and thrown into a cell for many years to pass.

And the gateway started to shrink under her power, despite the ringing in her ears trying to tell her to back down. She wouldn’t, though.

_ You have a wound, Ame. A terrible wound. _

The gateway reacted negatively, starting to send creatures up, and she shot out her other paw, focusing harder--if that was even possible at this point. It might’ve been, considering how she was trying to anger herself with events from her past. Most of it included the Abaddon and its inhabitants, but as she thought deeper into it, there was more she was angry about than such a horrid place.

_ And it’s festering. _

She was angry about much in the far past, and some of the present. She was angry about not being able to contact her biological family. She was angry that her Aunt had been harmed and would never pass on peacefully, or live her life to the fullest.

_ And it will grow. Spread. _

She was angry that most of her life, she had been used one way or another. She couldn’t just live a normal life simply because she “wasn’t allowed to”.

_ And eventually, it will kill you. _

She was angry that her life was a story where everything went wrong. Where everyone had their back against the wall, where everyone was in pain and acting selfishly because if they didn’t, they would die. Her life was a story, not of good against evil, but of need, against need, against need… where everyone was at cross-purposes, and everyone was to blame. And she was angry that she had been made into something against her will, but she also knew that she could be her own person if she could do this. She could go back and fix things.

She could fix herself because the only broken piece had been her doubt.

And sure as Hell, the gateway couldn’t counter her anger or her power. It didn’t have enough fight in it like she did and all of the creatures were shaken off of their stands, and the ground came closing in. The rot began pulling it, falling into where it came from, and with a determined scream to keep herself focused, the ground closed together, locking the gateway.

The Abaddon was sealed away for as long as they could manage to keep it, and that was good enough for her.

With a very bloody nose and an over-exerted mind, Fate was barely able to hear the shouting and barking as the fell forwards. She just narrowly missed the ground when Craig managed to catch her, hugging her tightly in reassurance, and she couldn’t help but weakly wrap her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. She didn’t want to get blood on his tie-dye hoodie, but he had always given off so much warmth than she could give him credit for.

“You did good, kid.” Craig sighed with a shaky voice as Marcel’s arms wrapped around both him and Fate, holding onto them as if they might sink into the ground any moment. “You did so good.”

All Fate could do was hold onto Craig a little tighter, glad to still be able to do so, before Toby suddenly squeezed in between them, hoping for the promised petting. Fate let out a weak laugh, feeling a little back that some of her nose blood got into Toby’s bright white fur, but knew that it could be washed out with little difficulty.

Pats had been promised, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know. What is Toby doing here? It's kinda because I headcanon Annoying Dog to be Toby, but lemme tell ya...
> 
> That's a spoiler, you're not allowed to know, have great fun waiting to know y'all


	10. Three Minutes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1684 words of pure fluff and the end of an arc.

_ One Month Later… _

 

* * *

 

 

12:03 P.M., December 6th, 20YZ

Craig Khourey entered Grillby’s with a grin, searching for who he had come to meet up with, and once he found none other than Rovia Monroe, he took a seat on the other side of the booth, hoping for some good news. From Rovia's smile, it certainly seemed like it would be such.

“Hello, Craig. I’ve got a little something for you…” Rovia trailed off, reaching into his back, and Craig couldn’t help but want to peek.

Rovia pulled out just what he expected and slapped it on the table lightly, pushing it over to the excited man. It was a certificate of birth that Rovia was able to get made with his ties to the state, but it wasn’t for Craig. It was for Fate. More specifically, Fate Dreemurr.

“... Thank you so much, Rovia.” Craig managed to get out, staring at the slip of paper that would help put Fate on the right track to living as normal of a life as she could get. “Is there anything I should know?” Rovia paused before giving a shake of his head.

“Take it slow, that’s all.” He insisted, giving Craig a fond look that the younger male had never received before. “Keep her inside for another month, perhaps. Start her off in school during the new year, and go from there.”

There was a pause as Craig stole a fry off of Rovia’s plate, munching on it thoughtfully before looking back at the older man.

“What about one night? Would that effect anything?” Craig questioned, being absolutely serious, and Rovia gave him a look between confusion and concern. “Would that be too risky?”

There was a pause, and then Rovia let out a light chuckle, shaking his head. His long, light brown hair moved with him, cascading over his shoulders, and he leaned forward a bit.

“Go have fun.” He told Craig honestly, and Craig didn’t have to be told twice.

With a grin, he hopped out of the booth and made a dash for the door, hopping in his car and driving away before anyone could stop him. Rovia only smiled, hoping that he had been able to help for once.

 

* * *

 

 

8:34 P.M., December 15th, 20YZ

“I’m going to slit my throat.”

Chara’s comment made every bit of sense to the group of friends sitting around the table at the “Ebott Mixed School’s Annual Winter Dance Spectacular”. They had been before a couple of times, but this time something just made all of them want to die a little more than last year’s. I mean, anyone would want to die having Linda around as a personal disco ball, but this year, she seemed even worse all dressed in red as if it suited her.

Newsflash: it didn’t. Not one bit.

“I’ll race you.” Adar challenged, but Chara’s deep stare into her eyes told her that they shouldn't. She would lose quicker than her flames could manifest themselves.

They almost took the challenge, however, when a slow dance started to play over the speakers. In fact, a lot of them were willing to join in on the challenge, until Danny suddenly turned to Adar with the most confident look anyone had ever seen him wear. With Amber in the fray, it was indeed a rare expression.

“Would you like to dance?” He asked without any stuttering, without any shaking in his voice or any wavering in his tone, and it was hard for everyone else to not laugh at how shocked Adar was--or red. Linda’s dress could not outmatch how red the eldest Pickering’s face had gone.

And yet, albeit with a dangerously frantic nod of her head, Adar had agreed. A rare bright smile broke out across Danny’s face and they were off quicker than either of them could take it back, and everyone watched them go. Jasmine had fallen out of her chair trying to follow them further than her seat went, and Grace offered to take her dancing so she could keep an eye on her hot-headed sister. Jasmine agreed and ran off with Grace in tow. She didn’t even run that fast in gym class.

Before anyone knew it, each of them were setting off in pairs to dance as well. Maggie had kindly taken Leo so Lena could dance with Melina. Chandler had been a gentleman and offered Amber a dance, in which she had accepted very anxiously because she wasn’t a dancer, but she didn’t want to get left behind either. Frisk had run off to go and find MK so they could dance with him, and very awkwardly, Aiden had asked Chara for a dance. They were hesitant at first, but then decided that they might as well, but only because they didn’t want to embarrass him. He decided to roll with it.

Nearly everyone was dancing, but one monster boy sat on his lonesome at a table, very bored because his twin sister had run off to go and dance as well. As he sat there, his hazel green eyes ran over the crowd before looking to the door, wondering if he should just leave…

Until a monster girl made a very apprehensive entrance, unsure of what to do in such a large setting with so many people. Her sapphire blue eyes drifted over all the people and all the decorations before crossing over him, where she stopped for a moment and blinked. He stared back, and in unison, they gave each other anxious smiles. Everyone else was dancing, so that’s why she crossed over to him… right? There was no way that they could remember each other after nearly three years of no contact, considering that they had just been a pair of friends. They hadn’t been close or anything…

“... You look beautiful, Fate.” Destiny managed after a moment of staring, and she managed to smile in return when she lifted her head from the awkward low, showing off her missing tooth and bright eyes. He smiled in return, him being glad that she remembered him and her being glad that he could remember someone he hadn’t been to close with… perhaps. “Um… do you want to dance?”

There was a pause as Fate looked anxiously towards the dance floor, and then back to him in slight shame.

“I don’t know how.” She admitted honestly, and he only chuckled as if he had been expecting that. It made her smile sheepishly, although he brightened her mood by reassuringly grabbing her paw with his own.

“I don’t either.” He admitted in response, and she laughed a little, relaxing again because she didn’t look as stupid as she thought she did. “... Do you want to figure it out?”

There was no pause that time. She simply looked into his eyes and gave a nod, squeezing his paw gently, and with smiles on their faces, they took to the dance floor. It was awkward, as they expected, but after a bit of low chatter, they managed to wrap their arms comfortably around each other like they were supposed to and get into the rhythm of the slow music. It was weird being so close at first, but they eased into it sooner than later, allowing themselves to breathe freely in the presence of each other.

“... I’m not going to ask where you went or why you were gone for so long.” Destiny seemed to assure Fate, who intertwined her eight fingers together behind his neck. It was an anxious habit she had picked up from Marcel, but Destiny didn’t seem to mind as they continued stepping and swaying with the tune of the music. “I’m just… going to welcome you back, okay? And we can act as if you were never gone, maybe, just between the two of us. We can act like we never got separated… if you want.”

There was a pause before Fate gave a small smile, looking a bit ashamed. Nonetheless, she gave him a small nod, her smile changing for the better towards him.

“... I’d like that. No differences.” She agreed, and he gave her a smile in return as they went a little off-beat, but quickly returned to the proper swaying of the music.

They swayed for quite awhile, lost in the music and in each other’s gaze. The dancing had become easy with the time that the music played through and they moved a if they had been dancing on their own for years and just now came together in a fit of awkward giggles. They didn’t know how the other felt about it, but it didn’t really matter. All that mattered was the moment: bright, happy, and as perfect as either of them could get. Nearly three years apart didn’t seem to matter between them. All it did was make their reunion sweeter, and their hearts fonder towards each other.

They both exchanged a shy gaze and a sweet smile, their arms adjusting around one another, before Fate suddenly leaned forward to press her lips to his cheek. It was quick and it had been a small sign of affection before she allowed her heels to hit the floor through her flats again, having been too short to kiss his cheek unless she stood on the tips of her toes. For many people, it would’ve meant nothing. It would’ve just been a kiss on a cheek, a sign of friendship or familial love, but for them it was real. It was all she could give him considering her inexperience, and that inexperience was there because her experiences with such a thing had been awful. He understood that and somehow, that made it all much more worth it.

They both exchanged cheeky smiles, giggling over such a passionate thing that they wouldn’t go beyond for God knew how long, but it was enough for them. They rested their foreheads together, once more adjusting their grips on each other, and they smiled.

It had not been nearly three years for them, but instead, it had been three minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all better keep it down with the theories right now because the next arc is gonna start focusing more on Undertale itself than the Abaddon part of the universe.
> 
> Although... that doesn't mean I wont' ever focus on the Abaddon part ever again... *evil laughter*
> 
> Alright, enjoy yourselves with this for a little while. The next arc should be fun.


	11. The Start of Something New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.
> 
> In Fate's case, she's lucky that she knows how to get her answers with driving herself too far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wHOAOOOAOAHHAOAOAO WELCOME TO THE SECOND ARC OF STAND STILL
> 
> I'M SO FUCKING EXCITED
> 
> ENJOY YOURSELVES???!?

11:21 P.M., December 31st, 20YZ

“How are you four doing?”

Chara slumped against the table that was in the middle of the room, Frisk gave a thumbs down, Flowey dropped the pencil that had been held in his mouth, and Fate merely gave a peachy smile. Toriel couldn’t help but give a sympathetic smile, finally feeling as if they had all worked hard enough on each of their different little things: Chara on their school homework, Frisk on their government homework, Flowey on trying to write without using his vines, and Fate trying to write a professional thank you letter to Rovia for his hard work in getting her birth certificate.

“Well, cheer up! I think that’s enough hard work for his year.” Toriel joked despite being serious about them having done enough hard work, and she got a set of groans and giggles.

Nonetheless, they were all happy to finally put away their work and go downstairs to where a New Years party was being held. It was pretty much close friends only and all of their good friends had stuff to do for New Years anyways, so Fate was allowed to move back into her shared room. More importantly: back into the Dreemurr house. It was hard to know that she wasn’t going to wake up to Craig and Marcel being there anymore, and the two men had their fair share of sighs on the matter, but the three of them compromised to visit each other a lot. But, since Craig and Marcel were now pretty much,  **technically** family to Fate, she had convinced Toriel into inviting them to the New Years party.

Well, more of a get-together than a party, but in any case…

The kids went downstairs and were immediately greeted by everyone. Frisk made a running start into Papyrus’ waiting arms, Chara shared a fist-bump with Undyne, and Fate ran to the couch with Flowey in her arms to sit in between Craig and Marcel. Marcel had Ebony curled around his neck, which he didn’t seem to mind about, and Craig had Toby lying belly-up in his lap, which he didn’t seem to happy about. Toby had unofficially moved into the Dreemurr house when Fate did and with much persuading from Frisk, Toriel had allowed the annoying dog to stay-- **if** the kids took care of him. Ebony wasn’t too happy about it at first, but had started settling down not too long after.

Food was indulged and time passed smoothly until finally, there were only a minute or so before they entered the year of 20YY. Everyone was beyond excited, but Fate most of all. She was surrounded by family and the new year would definitely bring more than she ever could’ve hoped for. This was the year she could finally leave everything awful behind…

_ 10… _

_ 9… _

_ 8… _

_ 7… _

_ 6… _

_ 5… _

_ 4… _

_ 3… _

_ 2… _

She was  **DETERMINED** to lead a better life from here on out.

_ 1… _

12:00 A.M., January 1st, 20YY

“ **HAPPY NEW YEAR** !”

Fate ended up squished between one of Craig and Marcel’s famous two-way hugs, squeezing a very unimpressed Toby with a shining hope for a good year.

She wasn’t the only one hoping, and that made it all the more powerful.

 

* * *

 

 

8:11 A.M., January 8th, 20YY

Fate remembered the sound of morning announcements and that odd smell Willow Creek Elementary somehow had kept from three years ago. Nonetheless, she followed after Mr. Sophoclaus, who had unsurprisingly forgotten about her after three years, towards the mixed grade six and seven classroom where she would spend half of the year before she graduated into high school. It was both exciting and nerve-wrecking, and she was also beyond anxious because she wasn’t sure who would remember her and who had forgotten about her completely.

Nonetheless, Mr. Sophoclaus interrupted the class to introduce the teacher to her before quickly taking off back to his office. He was still a jerk, it seemed, but Ms. Geraldine Carpenter was the sweetest older grade teacher in Fate’s opinion. Ms. Carpenter introduced herself kindly and then introduced her to the not-so-oddly-yet-still-nerve-wrecking staring class before asking the class where there was a free seat. Luckily for her, there was a corner seat right beside Amber, which Fate gladly rushed to take so Ms. Carpenter could continue her lesson.

Math was one of her favorite subjects, after all. Like a weirdo, but she took pride in it.

And she was focused until a paper airplane hit her ankle, gaining all her attention as she looked about for the culprit. It didn’t take long to find a familiar pair of hazel green eyes that shined alongside a usual grin she had been missing, and she picked up the paper airplane, unravelling it quietly. Like she thought, he had written on it.

_ I still hate math :p _

She couldn’t help but want to giggle, but refrained from doing so because she knew that she would be interrupting the class. Instead, she just wrote back that he better pay attention if he wanted to graduate, and then skillfully threw the paper airplane back at him. When he read her reply, he gave a pout, and she merely smiled with a shake of her head in response.

After a good hour or so of math, which was more exciting for some than it was for others, the bell finally rang for recess. Nearly everyone fled to go and do their own things, but Fate decided to stay in the classroom to finish her math worksheet. The less work she had to do, the longer her walks with Toby could be in the evening, not to mention that it would give her more free time in class. She remembered that from back in the third and fourth grades.

The only difference was that Flowey wasn’t around to help her. Apparently, seventh grade was something she had to face alone, much like high school… although, Toriel promised that she could take Flowey during eighth grade because maybe that’d help with her transition. She appreciated that. What she didn’t appreciate all too much was Gaster trying to cover her eyes, only for her to be able to gaze through the holes in the palms of his hands. It distracted her from her work, but to be fair, it was a nice distraction.

“I’ve told you before, that doesn’t wok.” Fate giggled, turning around in her seat to face the goopy skeleton, who was giving her a frown. It made her smile disappear, seeing him so down and… concerned? No, not exactly… “What’s going on?”

There was a pause, and then he responded.

“... I won’t be able to visit for awhile.” He told her, but she had a feeling there was more to it than that. She didn’t dare to ask, though. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be, but promise not to get in trouble while I’m gone?”

A thought crossed her mind as she looked down at her sneakers, but she looked back up at him with a sheepish smile.

“I promise. Take care, alright?” She hoped, and he nodded in response before fading away like he had done many times before.

It was just that, this time, Fate wasn’t sure when he would return. In fact, she didn’t know much about Gaster…

Perhaps it was time to learn about him.

 

* * *

4:39 P.M., January 8th, 20YY

There was a shift on the old Dreemurr couch by his feet that made Sans open his eye sockets, curious as to who had sat down. It was Fate, but not normally just wanting to watch cartoons like she did when he usually babysat her. Instead, she was staring at him and waiting for him to say something, which made him… well, uncomfortable. He really hoped that the others would come back from shopping sooner than later.

“D’ya need something, kid?” Sans questioned, and Fate flicked her ears in response, telling him to keep going. “Uh… what is it?”

“Did you ever know a Gaster?” Fate asked right away, no hesitation whatsoever. Sans was not happy to respond to her question, the lights in his eye sockets disappearing just to show.

“ **N o .** ” He replied, sounding beyond serious. There was a heavy silence between them as Fate shrunk under his tone and scary look, and he took it back right away. “Sorry, sorry, no more scary face, kiddo. See?” She paused, and then gave a small nod, but didn’t dare to look him in the eye. “... I never knew a Gaster. Although I’m not sure why you would bring that name up, it does ring a bell, but I never knew anyone by the name.”

Because he wasn’t making eye contact, it was quite obvious to tell that he was lying. It was also obvious that it was a sore spot for him considering his initial reaction, so she decided to leave it there with him for now.

She had an odd feeling that Flowey could point her in the right direction, though…

 

* * *

 

 

3:33 P.M., January 9th, 20YY

“I-I dunno about that… It doesn’t sound like a good idea.”

Fate gave a conflicted frown. One reason was because Alphys didn’t want to agree with her and Flowey, and another was that she had gotten stuck on tape, which in turn started ripping out some of her fur. She was only dealing with the tape because Flowey couldn’t, and they had promised to help Alphys with her cosplay outfit in exchange for a conversation with her. Fate was odd like that with people she didn’t know all too well, but Alphys was a family friend, so she had agreed.

Flowey had explained a lot and in response, Fate had decided to go down the only path she could to find out more about Gaster: the Amalgamates. She had never met any of them, only heard about them, but Flowey had a lot of experience. It was as if the pair hadn’t been apart and were simply looking for more adventure together. After all, they told each other a lot that they didn’t tell anyone else, although Flowey admitted that he shared a lot with Frisk and Chara about this stuff as well.

“I mean, I-I just kinda want to leave the Amalgams with their families. I-I’m sure they really don’t want t-to think about their… time in the lab again.” Alphys explained, glancing over her shoulder in fear that her girlfriend might come running down the hall at any moment. It was a fair fear to have, in Fate’s opinion.

“I know. I just… I really want to find out more about Gaster.” Fate told her, watching as her face contorted with confliction. “It’s… confusing to me that no one knows about him.” Alphys opened her mouth to question why the Amalgams could help, but Fate started to explain before she could ask. “According to Flowey, the “Memoryheads” are the only clue we have so far, and you said that you didn’t know anything about them… so I thought that maybe one of the other Amalgams might. We could… maybe figure out more from there.”

“And that’s assuming you can get anything but  **gibberish** out of those things, anyway.” Flowey snapped, and Fate gave him a reassuring smile. She could tell that he and Alphys had a… strained relationship.

“Maybe not, but it would be nice to try.” Fate considered, turning to Alphys with a hopeful smile. There was a silence in which they both stared, anxiously and hopefully, and then Alphys gave in.

“Well… O-Okay!” Alphys decided, making Fate’s face light up happily. “I’ll give their families a call… try to arrange a time to meet. But…  **just** questions, and we stop if they get too upset.”

Fate nodded frantically in understanding, turning back to her helpful work even more bright than when she had arrived in the small apartment. She shared a mischievous glance with Flowey, who glared a bit to tell her that he wanted in on her investigation, and she was glad to let him join.

She could use a partner, after all.

 

* * *

 

 

5:13 P.M., January 15th, 20YY

“So, I-I know it’s a lot to ask of you, but… I’m really g-glad you guys are here today.”

To say that Fate was nervous was an understatement. She couldn’t think straight this morning, having put her silent reading book in the wrong pocket of her backpack and then panicking when she couldn’t find it. She couldn’t help but shake in her seat as she stared ahead at the Amalgams, her paws spread like pale starfish around Flowey’s pot. They were cold, too, resisting the warmth that struggled to seep into them. Her stomach shifted uneasily from… the goop that was the Amalgams, and she swallowed uncomfortably. They were distinguishable and yet, they were also a mystery.

“I just want to ask you a couple of questions, with Fate, Frisk’s sibling! A-About… your t-time in the laboratory.” Alphys told them, both shaking like a leaf and sweating in her lab coat. Fate couldn’t blame her. Flowey was the calmest out of the three of them, and probably the most bored as well. “There’s no right or wrong answer! It’s not a test! A-And, when we’re done, I brought you all some chips and candy for your trouble.”

Shivers ran up and down Fate’s spine as the Amalgams spoke, happy about the treats Alphys promised, and she was beginning to think that perhaps this wasn’t the best idea… but she would  **persevere** nonetheless.

“Okay! Now, first…” Alphys trailed off, searching her lap coat pockets to find something. When she pulled it out, Flowey mumbled to Fate that it was a bad drawing of a Memoryhead. “Do you know where these Amalgams came from? I-I… was never close enough to… study them.”

“ **_They come from bad memories._ ** ” One of the Amalgams hissed, causing Fate to flinch a bit, hitting one of her heels intt a leg of her seat.

“ **_... V e r y… s t i c k y…_ ** ” Another got out, but the third one was the kicker. It was like many people were talking at once and it’s words were all jumbled, so no one could understand it.

Nonetheless, Fate carried on with the questions.

“Um… How did they start appearing?” Fate questioned, her voice shaking a bit under the pressure of three gazes. Well, three gazes of… many melted together people?

“ **_W h e n… t h i n g s… b e c a m e… b a d…_ ** ” The second Amalgam responded, and Fate tilted her head in confusion. She flicked her ears, trying to adjust them so she could maybe understand, but it didn’t help. It was nothing like Toby and Ebony.

“ **_Bad memories were there before._ ** ” The first one insisted, repeating the sentence over and over as different people.

The third one tried to speak again, but still, no one could understand it.

“Reaper Bird, please… I  **can’t** understand you when you all speak at once.” Alphys told the third Amalgam, or Reaper Bird as she called it, who appeared to suddenly freak out as it shook about. However, Fate found out that was how it brought only one voice forward, because it spoke up in a way she could understand… sort of.

“ **_Bad memories both old and new took form with our leftovers._ ** ” Reaper Bird replied, and Fate looked down at Flowey, who was looking up expectantly at her. She didn’t understand completely and she felt a little bad about that… but perhaps she could try to understand?

“... Do you know…  **whose** old memories?” She asked, trying to make sense for them, and sighed in relief when they all seemed to understand.

“ **_N o… i t ‘ s… b a d…_ ** ” The first one responded, and she frowned a little when it raised its… wing?... to cover its face.

“ **_Someone failed before the doctor. We felt it all the time._ ** ” The second one elaborated before Reaper Bird jumped in, once more mixed up with all it was, but Fate caught something about a shadow in the corner. It sent shivers down her spine because it reminded her of the Abaddon, shadows in all the corners…

“You felt someone else there… but don’t know who?” Fate questioned, sharing an odd look with Flowey. It sounded a bit like Gaster, but she couldn’t be sure…

“ **_The dogs will know._ ** ” The second one insisted, and Fate gave Alphys a weird look.

“Endogeny?” She questioned softly, and Fate looked to Flowey for an explanation. According to him, Endogeny was another Amalgam and probably couldn’t make it. To be fair, it was a bunch of dogs, so communicating would be difficult.

“ **_The dogs were guards._ ** ” The second one explained, and it looked like it might’ve been sweating a little bit. “ **_The dogs liked being around the skeletons._ ** ” That would make sense, considering that dogs liked bones.

Reaper Bird tried speaking, but was all mixed up again. Before anyone could say anything, it had shaken itself back to a point of understanding, speaking something that chilled the room and shocked everyone to silence from such chills.

“ **_DARK, DARKER,, YET DARKER. THE DARKNESS KEEPS GROWING. THE SHADOWS CUTTING DEEPER. PHOTON READINGS NEGATIVE. THIS NEXT EXPERIMENT SEEMS VERY, VERY INTERESTING. WHAT DO YOU TWO THINK?_ ** ”

Flowey just looked shocked while Fate looked ready to start sweating, and Alphys was ahead of both of them. She was shocked and sweating, and barely able to keep herself standing. And yet, she spoke up first.

“... I-I-I th-think that’s enough!” She decided, and Fate didn’t feel like arguing at the moment. She was too shocked and… well, uncomfortable. “Y-You all did great! Th-This was very helpful.”

Alphys started handing out treats to the Amalgams, and Flowey merely looked up at Fate with a scowl.

“Was this actually helpful?” He questioned, not finding any significance in it, but Fate took a deep breath and nodded. It had been helpful

“... It’s enough for me to talk to Sans again.”

 

* * *

 

 

3:30 P.M., January 16th, 20YY

Sans walked into the living room with a bottle of ketchup, hoping to just sit back and relax, but instead, he was given a small scare by Fate scowling at him over the arm of the couch. If he could sweat, he would… oh, hey, he could actually do that. Well, there it was, he was sweating.

“What’s with that look? Did you have a bad day at school or something?” Sans asked, and Fate merely sat up, giving him the third most determined look he had ever seen. Frisk was first on that list, and Chara second. Damn, these Dreemurr children were giving him a run for his… well, to be fair, life.

“Sans, I wanna talk with you.” Fate insisted in a serious tone, and he merely took a comfortable seat, shrugging his shoulders. “I want to talk about what happened to you in the Underground, with Gaster.”

“Kid…” Sans sighed, leaning back against the couch in exasperation. “I toldja, I don’t know--”

“Sans, why are you lying?” Fate cut him off, and he couldn’t help but look at her. If there was one thing about Toriel he could definitely say he wasn’t too fond of, it was how her children pushed him right to the edge and let him teeter. Nonetheless, he merely chuckled, slouching in his spot.

“Well… you are a little detective, huh? What else do you  **think** you know?” He questioned, and Fate didn’t hesitate to answer.

“I know there was an accident with some machine or something… and the accident made everyone forget about Gaster. Well…  **nearly** everyone.” She explained in response, and he paused before shrugging again.

“Cool. You got all the important stuff.” Sans said simply, and Fate frowned, tugging on his sleeve expectantly. She wanted an explanation. “No. It’s not a story for you.” She hummed in disatisfaction, and he sighed. “I’m not telling you because I know you Dreemurr children. If I tell any of you three kids, you’re gonna get it into your determined little heads that it’s something you have to do something about. Something you gotta fix, even though Frisk has already fixed things for all the monsters and you’ve already fixed everything to do with the Abaddon. There’s nothing you can do about this.”

There was a pause, and then Fate tried again. She wasn’t giving up, much like a Dreemurr.

“If I can’t do anything about it, then what’s it going to hurt telling me?” Fate questioned with a small grin, and Sans stared down at her before shaking his head. “I’m not going to let this go. Like you said, you know us Dreemurr children.” He slapped a hand to his face, and the bone-against-bone sound made Fate flinch a bit. Nonetheless, Sans ended up giving in.

“If it’ll get you off my backbone about it…” He decided, putting the bottle of ketchup on the side table and lying down to tell the story. Fate’s face lit up and he supposed that was worth it. “You gotta understand, kid… We were all Underground for a long, long time. You might’ve not realized because you were only… what, six when we all got out, and you were still stuck in that shitty place?”

Fate gave a nod, and Sans rested his hands behind his head. In order to keep him from falling asleep, Fate carefully climbed onto his stomach--making sure not to fall in between his ribs due to her size--and plopped down, keeping her eyes on him so he would tell the full story. He merely chuckled over her antics.

“Ages before any humans showed up, when your parents were probably still kids, if they were even born yet--” Yah, he was old, but there was no point in commenting on that. “--we got desperate, trying to find ways to save ourselves. Lotta scientists came and went, but Dr. Gaster… he was the most brilliant of them all.” Gaster had been a scientist? Now  **that** was interesting. “He discovered what we thought was the key… the SAVE file. The marker of each person’s position in time and space. Now--”

“I know about that stuff. Flowey told me all about it. Just keep telling the story.” Fate insisted curiously, and after a bit of staring along with a scoff about Flowey being a damned flower, Sans continued.

“Okay… it was an exciting time We got a whole team together to research save files. Couldn’t even tell ya how thrilled I was to join.” Sans explained, and Fate smiled a bit. She could only imagine. “We worked together, and built a machine. It was designed to access save files. We thought… maybe if we made it big enough, powerful enough, we could send all the monsters back in time. To before the war between the humans and monsters. Then we would know better than to fight, and we could make it so we were never banished in the first place.”

That sounded pretty smart, in Fate’s opinion. She was a little disappointed that it obviously didn’t work, but at the same time, she wouldn’t have life any other way than now. Except…

“However, we were missing… a key ingredient:  **DETERMINATION** . There were no human souls around as well, and we didn’t know to just  **look** for it. There were… a lotta tests, on monsters, trying to get them to save to load, to reset. All of them failed, and all but the first test subject were lost forever.”

Oof… that sounded rough.

“But Gaster insisted that we kept going. A few monsters were lost, but it would be worth the sacrifice to save everyone. “Just a few more. We’ll get it next time.”... but we never did, and brilliant monster that he was, he built the Core.”

“... Which the demon dogs took over last year.” Fate added, and Sans gave a nod. “All the power form the Core was moved when everyone else moved out though, right?” Sans nodded again, and she simply decided to let him tell the rest of the story. He obviously didn’t want to get off track and she felt bad for interrupting.

“Surely… using all the energy powering the Underground would be enough to get the time machine to work, enough to free us all. Spoiler: it wasn’t enough.” Sans explained, and Fate flicked her tail. Albeit, it simply fell in defeat because this story was depressing. She wasn’t sure what she had expected. “The machine, with the Core… it did something to the space-time continuum for sure. It caused an accident-- **the** accident--but it split the time-space continuum open and made it accessible. It just... wasn’t accessible by us. Everything went wrong and Dr. Gaster got to see the accident up close. He  **fell** into the Core while time and space were messed up… and that was all there was of him. It was suddenly like he never existed at all, and that was only the  **first** time I failed trying to save someone I cared about.”

“... But… it was just an accident…” Fate insisted, and Sans rubbed at hi face with a sigh.

“Don’t you get it, kid? Stop and think for a second.” Sans told her, and she did just that with a sheepish expression. “We’ve been on the surface for about four, maybe five years, and time has moved normally. There are tons of humans who have a whole lot of determination, some of them  **almost** as much as Chara and Frisk, so why don’t they all just reset whenever something goes terribly wrong for them? Every time they die unexpectedly?”

Fate had no answer. She wasn’t sure why that didn’t happen.

“It’s because of the Underground. It’s just there. Whatever the time machine did.. In order to reset, you need a save file, the determination to use it… and you have to be in the Underground, or have been through it. Monsters can’t hack all three of those… only humans that fall into the Underground can.”

“... How come you remember what happened?” Fate questioned, lowering her ears against her head She wasn’t sure whether it would be a smart idea to tell Sans about Gaster or not…

“I didn’t come out of that accident unscathed, kiddo. You got your telekinesis fro somewhere, although I’m not gonna ask about it, and I got mine from the accident because I got too close. Not close enough to follow Gaster, but close enough to remember our mistakes.” Sans explained simply, and although Fate didn’t completely understand it all, she gave him a nod anyways. “And that’s the truth, just for you.”

“... Are you okay?” Was all Fate could manage to ask, sitting up in her spot on his ribs, and he gave a shrug.

“I mean, have you ever lost your Dad to time and space before?” Sans questioned, and after a moment of silence as she thought about that relation, she shook her head. There was a pause, and then he gave her a pat on the head, tousling her fur to make her giggle. He succeeded, if only a little. “I’m fine, kid. I guess sometimes… I just think about how it’d be nice just to let him see where we are now. That it all worked out in the end no matter… and just to get a chance to him him that I’m sorry, y’know?”

There was another pause, and then Fate gave him a small, fond smile as she nodded a bit. Seh could understand that…

But she didn’t know if she was satisfied with just knowing what happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tHAT'S RIGHT. THIS ARC IS GONNA BE ABOUT DADSTER AND SOME TIME-SPACE CONTINUUM SHIT.
> 
> I've been meaning to write this stuff for awhile, but now has been the only perfect time I feel like I can write it. So, get ready for time, space, Gaster, Toby, Flowey, and some more into other characters: because this arc is gonna be lit!!
> 
> I hope.


	12. What the Fuck, Toby?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toby is a little shit who Fate trusts too much, and Flowey just gets roped into Fate's problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun stuff. Who's up for some time travel to begin this arc off right? I know I am.

3:23 P.M., January 19th, 20YY

A loud groan rang through the Dreemurr household, muffled by a pillow. It came from Fate, who had locked herself in her shared room with only Flowey and Toby, considering that Flowey was the only one she could talk to in the household at the moment. Also, Toby was just… Toby, and decided that he would rather lie with her on her bed instead of have his freedom at the moment like Ebony did.

“You’re  **still** going on about Gaster?” Flowey questioned in an exasperated tone, and Fate gave a nod. “... Why?”

“I just…” Fate trailed off, throwing the pillow aside before sitting up and starting to pet Toby to calm herself down. “He was Sans and Papyrus’ Dad, right? Sans is still worrying about it a bit and… he’s all alone while everyone else is making a life for themselves and enjoying themselves!” She paused, looking up at Flowey, who seemed bored to hear her explanation.

“And you think saving Gaster would help the smiley trashbag?” Flowey asked, more likely than not thinking of it as a pathetic idea. Nonetheless, Fate nodded honestly, and Flowey groaned in response. “... No one can reset except for Frisk.” Fate shook her head immediately.

“I don’t want to reset! It would ruin everything we’ve worked so hard for!”

There was a pause because Flowey picked it back up.

“How are you supposed to save him, then? If he got fractured into time and space, then the only way to reach him would be back in the Underground.” Flowey explained, and Fate hummed in agreement as she laid back down, pretty much using Toby as a pillow. He didn’t seem to mind, happily panting away. “So, what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know…” Fate whined, hiding her face in Toby’s fluffy white fur. “I want to help, but resetting will just mess things up! And it’s not like I can go back into the Underground  **before** the accident to stop Gaster! I promised I wouldn’t get into trouble…”

Despite her words being muffled, Flowey and Toby could hear everything. The soulless flower and odd annoying dog exchanged two very different looks, and then Flowey looked away from the two beady, black eyes. However, Toby had something different in mind. He squirmed out from underneath Fate’s head, gaining both her attention and Flowey’s, and then ran in circles in the middle of the room as if chasing his tail. The pair watched the annoying dog carry out his antics and then suddenly did something neither of them could have expected in a million lifetimes.

He opened some sort of… portal?

“... What the  **fuck** is this dog?” Flowey asked, snapping Fate out of her shock. She scowled at him for his language before Toby suddenly barked at them, spinning around in circles next to the portal. Fate didn’t know much about portals, but from Flowey’s experience, they lead to far too many unknown places to be trustworthy. However, at the same time, this was Toby… he had lead her along a quick path to closing the gateway just two months ago or about, so perhaps she could trust him with this?

She wasn’t too sure what to do.

Toby looked at her just then, his black eyes drilling into her sapphire blue ones. She couldn’t help but think that she had never seen such dark eyes with so much light in them… but on the other hand, the portal looked so dark and endless. It didn’t look safe one little bit and yet, she was compelled to follow Toby through it, even if it lead her to the other side of the world.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, you’re not actually thinking about going through some suspicious portal that some suspicious dog made, are you!?” Flowey questioned, being far too loud for Fate’s liking.

In fact, a knock sounded on the door, and Toby only looked more eager for her to enter the portal. A voice sounded out following another knock and a jiggle of the doorknob, which made her beyond anxious as she grabbed Flowey. She held him close and looked down at him for guidance.

“I trust Toby, but you’re my partner in this. It’s both of us, or neither.” She insisted, and Flowey was about to scream neither… but that look in both Fate and Toby’s eyes had him silenced. “... I-I don’t mean to rush you, but…”

“Fine!” Flowey snapped before he could think it through, and Toby jumped into the portal.

Fate made a mad dash after him with Flowey held tightly, and instead of there just being darkness to walk upon like she thought, she immediately fell. In her shock, she screamed and didn’t realize that Flowey had lost his pot. In fact, he lost his pot, his roots, and his flower boy was contained like a bright SOUL inside the outline of someone. It wasn’t just anyone either. It was a young goat boy, bigger than Fate and Toby, but still young as if he was merely a twelve year old child.

“... Asriel?” Fate asked before she could stop herself as she reached out for a flower pot, only to grab a see-through paw that was much bigger than hers. The goat boy immediately freaked out and quite obviously, Fate had gotten it right. “What happened!?”

Before either of them could get an answer, Toby had fallen between them and straight into Fate’s free arm, which she didn’t really mind. What she did mind was that they were all  **falling** and she wasn’t sure what was happening outside the… portal, perhaps?

“We’re gonna die, we’re gonna die, we’re gonna die!” Asriel, or still Flowey perhaps, screamed out in repeat as they fell into the darkness. Fate wasn’t sure what was going on, so she couldn’t disagree…

Until Toby lurched forward towards three “files”, and she had a feeling of what he was trying to do. Whether it was good or not, she didn’t quite know. All she knew was that before she could reach out and stop him, Toby’s body had fallen against “File 1”.

And everything went black… before some familiar surroundings became clear to all three of them.

At this point, no one would believe the story when they got home, if they ever did… because Fate, Toby and Flowey--all in their respective forms--had travelled back in time through a little dog’s portal. They were in the Underground of the past, with Toby tucked under one of Fate’s little arms with Flowey’s roots had returned and were wrapped around Fate’s other little arm. The only real problems now were the facts that they didn’t know what was happening in the future… and Flowey and Fate couldn’t get undone from each other. Flowey was stuck to Fate’s arm as if they were one being, not two separate ones, and Toby seemed to find this fine.

**None of this was fine.**

They were in the Underground of the past where Fate and Asriel hadn’t even been born yet, they had no idea what was going on in the future, and one wrong move here in the past could screw up everything in that future.

“Toby, what have you done!?” Fate questioned frantically, and Toby laid down, rolling over as if expecting belly rubs. He wouldn’t get any. “A-Any single little wrong move could change  **everything** ! A-And are we  **stuck** here!?”

Toby barked. Fate and Flowey groaned in unison before Fate simply took a deep breath, trying to remain calm.

“... We need to think of a plan.” She told them, and neither of her partners had a response. “Flowey and I can’t be seen! Neither of us have been born yet!” Toby barked again. “You brought us back here to help us help Gaster, and I appreciate that. So let’s get it over with, huh? Let’s find Gaster and let’s just go back to the future… the present?... and pretend this  **never** happened!”

There was a pause before Toby barked in agreement, and Flowey rolled his eyes before giving a stern nod.

“First order of business, though: a disguise.” Flowey insisted, and Fate nodded in agreement. “If we’re seen, we’re done for. So find something, and quick!”

That presented more challenge than they thought, but after a lto of arguing and indecision, Fate had finally found a cloak that fit right with her and… well, her new arm attachment that also happened to be one of her best friends. It had a big hood, covered her down to her ankles, had little gloves built into it to keep her paws mostly hidden, and it buttoned up. It was good enough for the both of them, so they took off to start their investigation into where Gaster might be with Fate taking the lead, Flowey giving directions, and Toby simply following behind them.

But the feeling of being watched sent shivers up and down Fate’s spine. She felt like… some sort of…  **cheater** , or something. Like in a game, except this was everything but some stupid game.

“Maybe we can talk to someone, just to ask them where Gaster is?” Fate asked Flowey, but he frantically shook his head, smacking her cheek with some of his petals by accident. It didn’t hurt.

“No, absolutely not! We can’t talk to anyone! We’ll mess things up, I just know it!” Flowey responded, bringing her to pout because of how much that made this… inconvenient.

And yet, Fate couldn’t help but look around. Back when everyone was still situated in the Underground, she didn’t get around a lot. She stayed in her village mostly if she wasn’t playing with her siblings in the woods, and then ended up in the Abaddon before she could even think of venturing further. They had everything they needed in their village, after all… but  **wow** , was the Underground a wonder. Despite being a prison for a long time, all the monsters had made it so… well, so much like a real home.

“Let’s go to the Core. Even if we catch him just before the incident, we can’t waste our time dilly-dallying around the Underground.” Flowey told her, and after a moment of hesitation, she began to walk.

With many directions, both taken well and not so well, the three of them managed to make their way to the Core unseen. The only problem now was that… well, the Core was heavily guarded since such an important experiment was happening. It was bustling with people and activity, and they knew that they had to save Gaster, but they couldn’t dare to be seen… so obviously, the best way to go about it was for Fate to make a mad dash with Toby following along behind. She didn’t look up at anyone and just watched where she was going while Flowey busied himself with whisper-screaming at her that this was not a good idea, that she was going to get them caught.

But she managed to get them inside, unseen by anyone, and took a bit of a wander to try and find Gaster. When nothing was found, she took a defeated seat against the door of what she thought must’ve been a janitorial closet, Toby lying down and resting his head in his lap expectantly. Al she did was place a paw on his head, but he dealt with it. She bobbed her head back and forth, trying to think, and Flowey’s low humming as he tried to think as well ended up making her sleepy.

And despite the situation at hand, she actually fell asleep.

 

* * *

**_DARK, DARKER, YET DARKER._ **

**_THE DARKNESS KEEPS GROWING._ **

**_THE SHADOWS CUT DEEPER._ **

**_PHOTON READINGS NEGATIVE._ **

**_THIS NEXT EXPERIMENT SEEMS VERY, VERY INTERESTING._ **

**_WHAT DO YOU TWO THINK?_ **

 

* * *

Fate awoke with a start, shivers running up and down her spine even as Flowey pulled on her ear with his teeth as if to wake her up. When he noticed that she was awake, he started saying something, but she couldn’t hear. She was too busy thinking about…

“ **That’s it** !” She suddenly got out, causing both Toby and Flowey to jump. She immediately got to her feet and took off down the hall running, Toby following after her in excitement and Flowey yelling at her in questioning. She had no time to respond and simply explained whatever she could get out between her much needed breaths that were taken as she dashed. “Gaster gives off a lot more than he thinks, whether he’s trying to or not.”

Needless to say, Flowey didn’t like the direction they were going  **or** the grin the had taken over Fate’s expression, but he couldn’t say anything before a rumbling nearly threw her off of her feet. Toby had even whimpered. Nonetheless, Fate didn’t let the rumbling throw her off for too long, pushing herself to go faster down the hall. When she got to the end, she skidded to a stop, nearly crashing into the wall, and then quickly ran into the last room.

The room of the experiment that became an accident and messed up the time-space continuum.

All Fate could hear despite Flowey’s yelling about her better not **daring** to take such a risk and Toby’s barking was Gaster, within the dark void from the very first time they met. She couldn’t understand him back then… or at least she thought that she didn’t, but he had told her so much. He knew that during this time, she would want to learn more about him. She would learn of his past and want to help. Whether he anticipated Toby or not, she wasn’t sure, but Gaster had told her not to get in trouble, so she wouldn’t.

She would do what was right.

_ There are some things you don’t really think about until you’re on the brink with them. Death happens to be one of them. _

The ground rumbled, throwing Fate and Toby off again, but she steadied herself once more and continued forward. Toby, being the loyal dog and the reason they were stuck in this situation right now anyways, fixed his posture and followed after her.

_ You can fear it all your life, suppressed dealing with the notion, never ready to depart. But time is a casual acquaintance. It will lead you steadily onward, whether you want to follow or not. _

Fate made a mad dash past many scientists who were running the other way, being careful not to bump into anyone and slow down either side. It was easy given her size, and Toby followed through with it even easier. Ahead was the experiment and the one person who remained in this time and space in front of it: Sans. Nonetheless, he wouldn’t know it was her as long as she kept on her coat, so she shushed Flowey--who had no say in the situation as of now--and pushed herself to go just a little faster.

_ Many say that when you die, you will meet a robed skeleton holding a scythe. Some say you go to Heaven or Hell.Some say that you are reincarnated. Some say you turn into a ghost, while some say you sleep for eternity. Maybe one of these will happen, or maybe none of them will. _

“This wasn’t supposed to happen!” Sans stressed as she got closer, and upon hearing both her and Toby’s footsteps, he swung around. “What are you doing here!? This area is dangerous!”

_ You won’t know until it happens. _

Even with his curiosity, Fate knew that Sans would be okay no matter what she did. None of her actions would change the future except for what she came here to do with Flowey and Toby. So, she braced herself, letting her right foot hitting the edge of the platform. She didn’t fear what would come next, as long as she had company. Flowey had no choice but to follow, which she felt a little bad about, and Toby was as loyal as any dog, if not more so.

_ Or, at least, nearly does. _

And so, the three from the future jumped into where Gaster was once lost.

They entered the time-space continuum, and doomed themselves to the void.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a look back at chapter 23 of Unpainted Fate, the "Nullity Makes the Heart Grow Fonder" one. Fate first met Gaster in that one, and first learned of the void sorta. She's finally clicking into things now because Gaster is either a fucking mastermind who wants to be saved already or some old scientist who didn't think she was smart enough and tried to just share his problems.
> 
> Newsflash: Fate is intelligent.


	13. Dark, Darker, Yet Darker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fate, Flowey, and Toby enter the void.
> 
> Also, we find out who has been writing the journal entries since the beginning of time (not actually, but it is revealed).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey. What else can I say except: appropriate title, it's time for the dumb reveal of who has been writing the journal entries, foreshadowing (probably a lot of it), and fun school stories.

**_Dark, darker, yet darker._ **

The void was like another world, one of complete darkness. It was pitch black in every direction, including down, but this time, Fate was not alone. Flowey was wrapped around her arm, albeit freely now, and Toby was trotting alongside her as she walked through the seemingly endless darkness. With each step she took, there was a ripple on the ground as if she was walking on water. The void was different from what it was back when she first walked through it. With her magic stronger, she made an impact instead of just being a little lost SOUL with nowhere to go.

The only thing that really made a difference was that she wasn’t welcome in the void this time, and neither were Flowey and Toby. With every step the void showed each of them something different: something they feared. It couldn’t fight back physically, but could do so mentally, and it was certainly doing its best. Whether that meant reflecting their worst moments or not, none of them dared to make any noise over it. They didn’t dare to shed any tears because that meant the void had gotten to them, and they had merely just arrived.

Fate could feel the sweat drenching her fur, the throbbing of her eyes, the ringing screams vibrating in her ears, and the thumping of her SOUL against her chest. Her eight fingers were curled into fists, claws digging into her palms, and she couldn’t hear herself breathing, but she could feel whatever air the void had to give flooding in and out of her lungs. She stared ahead and kept walking, no matter what the void dared to show her and no matter the itch it gave her. Fear tortured her guts, churning her stomach in tense cramps. It engulfed her conscience, throwing many of her other thoughts aside. It overwhelmed her body, making her drastically exhausted.

However, most of all, the fear was keeping her calm, and that might’ve just been the scariest thing.

But in the distance when he finally decided to show himself was Gaster, just like the last time. He seemed troubled this time, though, perhaps even angry. Fate couldn’t tell. In any case, he was still a comforting presence in the void, and he was humming that familiar tune again. It was still older than all of her troubles, and still something gentle, even as she removed her hood to face him with fairness.

“... Why are you here, child?” Gaster questioned, seeming more exasperated than anything, and she gave him a gentle smile. Flowey and Toby didn’t dare to interrupt them.

“I’m not the same little lost girl that I was the last time I ended up here.” Fate responded, but Gaster put his head down, seeming to want to turn away. “... I know your mistakes hurt, Gaster, but everyone deserves a second chance. We’ve all gotten one, so you--”

“I can’t.” Gaster suddenly cut off, turning away, and it actually shocked Fate. “I can’t have a second chance, and you are in no place to judge.” Nonetheless, Fate wanted to persist because that’s just what she did: she helped people, even if it brought her misfortune.

“Gaster, please… I know that I’m not one to judge such situations, but I at least know that everyone deserves a second chance.” Fate insisted, and he stayed turned away. She bit her bottom lip, trying to think, and then suddenly came up with something. Something to do with science, that he might understand a little better. “... My personality type is INFP-T, the Mediator.”

There was a pause, and then Gaster turned his head back a little bit, bringing her to smile ever so slightly. He was willing to listen, at least. That made it easier to talk.

“I’m a true idealist, always looking for the hint of good in even the worst of people and vents searching for way to make things better. While I may be perceived as calm, reserved, or even shy, I have an inner flame and passion that can truly shine. I’m guided by my principles, rather than by logic, excitement, or practicality. When deciding how to move forward, I will look to honor, beauty, morality, and virtue. I am led by the purity of my intent, not rewards and punishments, and I’m proud of that quality.”

There was a long pause that left them all in silence, and then Gaster spoke up softly, still not turning around.

“... Space is a wondrous reality.” He began, starting to walk, and Fate followed after him whether he wanted her to or not. Toby padded along after her and Flowey forced her to look at him for a moment so he knew that she was real. The void was an odd place, after all. “With each beat of our dissipating hearts, passages to untouched places are paved. We’re not bound by this world, nor are we bound by fear. Nothing binds us to anything but the very idea of things being linear.”

He lead them to a door that appeared out of nowhere on the ground, and opened it for them to look in. It was just showing what Gaster wanted to see at the moment, which happened to be his two sons squandering about in their small apartment.

“Earth feels like a sandbox full of firetrucks and rubber ducks. Here is where we operate as we do and expand as we are, but out there, in the vastness of the dark region of infinite potential, we could succeed beyond the bounds of any boundary.”

Gaster was trying to explain the best he could, and although Fate didn’t understand what he was saying, she sat down to listen. He sat down to watch his sons and speak to her, and her two loyal partners, despite knowing that they didn’t understand very well. They got the jist of it, he knew that much… and that was enough for him.

“The universe beyond the interface, the barrier that limited humanity to one time and place, was like DNA. It was a spiral that stretched onwards until it coiled about on itself, like some fractal pattern on steroids. Should this spiral spin fast, it would appear as a simple disc, or a ball perhaps--one ever expanding. Yet as the circle shape expanded, some would float into space as a loose string, like the string of a balloon ready to be cast off. The strings were released to prevent devolution within the ring, not simply of matter, but of spirit also. As we watched it grow, watched it case off what was no longer required, we knew we were looking at a living universe, on that self regulated to only keep i what was good for the whole.”

Gaster closed the door and got to his feet, turning away once more, but not before Fate caught sight of his solemn expression.

“Perhaps the double strands were parallel universes, never intended to mix, yet they belonged together-- **needed one another** . All we had seen for millenia was like a cross section of a candy cane.” Gaster finished, starting to walk away. He expected Fate and her friends to leave right then and there.

But Fate got onto her feet and faced him, forcing him to look back at her. Why… was she smiling with such determination and intelligence? It was as if she knew…

“But now there’s something much more interesting in the works.” She continued with the part he left out, trying not to laugh at his suddenly shocked expression. She knew of his journal entries that he recorded with only his voice, in the never-ending void? “You have to be willing to see it. You have to have an open mind and free sight, thoughts full of imagination, or it will pass by before you even realize that it was there in the first place.”

He stared at her in shock through the silence that surrounded them, and couldn't help but gasp in fright as she held out a paw for him. He knew it wouldn’t lower until he took it, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to do so. What was she thinking? Did she really believe that they could just leave and he would be given a second chance? That was far too simple, even with her determination to help him… 

“The right doors will only open to the right people, after all.”

And yet, the void cowered from her determination, opening a bright doorway for them to return, as demonstrated by how Toby barked happily and ran towards it. He spun in circles in front of it, barking wildly, and then froze, staring at the three of them and waiting for them to follow. Fate’s paw was still stretched out for Gaster to take, but he was scared of the possibilities of what could happen on the other side. His SOUL… his goopy body… his family… the timeline…

“I’m a lot of things, Gaster.” Fate spoke up, gathering all of his attention. Her expression was soft and reminded him of many things… many people… “I was 715 and I was meant to be Ame Konno, but I never got to be Ame. I became Fate Dreemurr instead… and I’m Fate now, and forever. I got more than just a second chance. Hell, I… I got a third, perhaps a fourth--I lost count! But I’m still allowed to live, and you’re allowed to live, too!”

He stared at her paw, slowly reached out a hand, albeit he was still unsure. He looked to her once more, and all she gave him was a smile along with some comforting words.

“Come home, Gaster. It’s time for everyone to remember, and time for you to see your sons again.”

With that, the pair--along with Flowey wrapped around Fate’s arm--walked towards the shining doorway. Toby barked happily, jumping through, and Fate paused, more than happy to let Gaster take the lead. He was hesitant…

_ If you love sunshine, if you love rain, they are a lullaby for the soul. Fear lives not in the world, but within the mind. So when fear calls at your door: bang, bang, bang… ask why you are afraid. And then you will find, there is only sunlight in your doorway; only gentle rain in your garden. _

… but managed to gather his courage, stepping through the bright doorway with Fate following behind, both of them holding onto each other’s hand tightly.

And as they did so, they smiled.

 

* * *

3:30 P.M., January 19th, 20YY

Asgore finally managed to pry open the locked door, the four concerned Dreemurr family members tumbling into the room to see why Fate had locked the doors and what was going on with the yelling, and the crashing. What they found, they weren’t expecting.

Flowey’s pot was on the floor, dirt spilled everywhere, and yet just behind it… stood a very proud looking Toby, a very happy and sheepish looking Fate, a very exasperated Flowey who was wrapped around Fate’s left arm, and a very nervous, tall skeleton. Normally, when you see a tall skeleton, it’s Papyrus. However, this tall skeleton… only had a slight resemblance, and definitely shouldn’t have been in Fate’s room, holding her paw.

There was a long silence, taken up by some intense staring contests, before Fate cleared her throat gently.

“... I can explain.” She tried to assure them, but by then, Toriel had already slumped against the doorway, feeling faint from the shock.

These children would be the death of her…

 

* * *

3:03 P.M., January 20th, 20YY

Well… this was new. Sans didn’t usually pick her up from school, nonetheless in… what was that, a straw hat? So Fate was a little hesitant about him doing just that, despite knowing that it was about Gaster. It had to be about Gaster, or else Sans was just being weird. Nonetheless, they started walking in complete silence before Fate finally got tired of it.

“So, uh… how’s Gaster doing?” She questioned curiously, only to pout because Sans merely shrugged. After seeing her reaction, however, he chuckled and answered seriously.

“He’s adjusting. It’ll take some time… but he’ll get there.” Sans explained in a reassuring tone, and she hummed in response. It was to be expected. The real world was a lot different from the void, and so many years spent stuck in there… it was bound to take some time for Gaster to get adjusted. “So… how was school?”

And just like that, the entire topic was changed.

“It was okay.” Fate sighed, pulling at the straps of her backpack before reaching out one of her paws to grab onto Sans’ hand. He didn’t seem to mind. “You know that kid who came up to me before I came over, so we could walk home?” Sans gave a bored nod, looking like he was about to fall asleep already, and it didn’t phase Fate one bit. “He was immature. He tried making fun of you, but I didn’t let him.”

“Oh, really?” Sans questioned, his tone changing a bit to match both “I’m interested” and “I’m about to have a throw down with a twelve year old”.

“Yah, he was being immature. He doesn’t know anything about us monsters, or our family.” Fate confirmed, carrying on despite Sans’ change of tone. She had handled the situation just fine! “He asked who you were and I told him, and  **then** he showed his immature nature. He was all like, “Sans must be sad that he can’t get a boner for the ladies because he doesn’t have a weiner”.”

Sans choked on nothing and for some reason, his hands started to get sweaty. It was a little gross, in Fate’s opinion. School was weird, but not weird enough to sweat, was it?

“But I told him, “That’s not true. Sans is a skeleton, see, so he has lots of bones. Also, he works at a hot dog stand every now and then, although I’m sure it’s illegal, but don’t tell anyone”.” Fate explained, and Sans’ hand got even sweatier, so she groaned in disgust and pulled her paw away. She did her best to shake off the sweat while complaining about it, and then continued her story. “I’m planning to tell Ms. Carpenter tomorrow because maybe he’ll get thirty minutes after class with her, y’know, for being a liar.”

At that point, Fate had walked ahead of him, but stopped because he had. Apparently, he was laughing too hard to continue walking. In fact, he was wheezing, but Fate was more interested in why he was wearing a straw hat that was too small for his head.

“What’s with the straw hat, by the way?” Fate questioned, and Sans was more than happy to have a distraction from her talk about school. He grabbed the hat from his skull and placed it on her head in the way that one might pet a dog quickly, causing her to squeak from the sudden darkness of a straw hat. Adjusting the hat, she found that it fit almost perfectly on her head. “... For me…?”

“From my Father.” Sans told her as he wiped away an imaginary tear from laughing so hard. “He said to tell you, “Est donum ex vacui. Curam spatium unum diem pascam vos.”.”

There was a pause as Fate blinked, trying to register and translate that, but by the time she had it translated, Sans had started walking again. It gave her a chance to reach up, fiddling with the two paper-looking pieces that were most likely glued to the straw hat, much like the black band that held them on. Upon fiddling with them, she felt them shift under her little fingers much like feathers would… and was able to understand it, if not only for a moment.

“Wait up!” She called to her family friend, holding her hat on her head as she ran to him, holding his hand as they walked along once more.

_ There are two great days in a person’s life: the day they are born, and the day that they discover  _ **_why_ ** _. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.S.: "Est donum ex vacui. Curam spatium unum diem pascam vos." is Latin from "It is a gift from the void. Take care of time and space, and one day, they will take care of you." Not gonna elaborate on that. You can have fun.
> 
> This arc is not over yet. It gets to continue. Just letting y'all know.
> 
> After all, Gaster is back in the real world (which took hours on Fate, Flowey and Toby's end, but only minutes back in the future), and Fate is gaining some big responsibilities.


	14. Honey Doves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's that odd chapter where Fate learns about the shit that a twelve-year-old should already know. Toriel is roped in, obviously. Thanks, Krystal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oH BOY, I googled so hard for this chapter, but it leads up to the next pretty much.
> 
> February is the month of love, after all.

3:00 P.M., January 28th, 20YY

When the bell rang, all the students raced out of their classrooms, as per usual. In mild amusement that sleepy Friday, Fate watched them go while she packed her things carefully. She wasn’t one to shove her papers into her backpack and forget about homework, even if she did often misplace things. As soon as every other kid was gone, she hurried her packing ever so slightly before zipping up her backpack and swinging it over her shoulders, ready to head out. Making her way to the front of the class, however, she was stopped momentarily by Ms. Carpenter handing her a flyer that she had to take before she left.

So Fate took it, left the classroom, and then pulled over to read the flyer.

_Ebott School’s Talent Show_ _  
_ _Monday, February 28th, 5 PM, Ebott Secondary School’s Auditorium_ _  
_ _Skyline Elementary Auditions:_ _Wednesday, February 2nd,_ _After School_ _  
_ _Willow Creek Elementary Auditions:_ _Thursday, February 3rd, After School_ _  
_ _Ebott Secondary Auditions:_ _Friday, February 4th, After School_ _  
_ __Tickets on sale at the door

She saw many students crumpling the paper up and throwing it at the trash can--and yes,  **at** the trash can. They weren’t getting basketball diplomas, any of them. Nonetheless, Fate simply followed their leads, crumpling up the flyer, throwing it at the trash can--albeit, hers had made it in because of the practice being bored out of her mind for nearly three years gave her--and then leaving. She got anxious in front of nearly two hundred kids and their families, so basically, the whole town watching her perform? Yah, not gonna happen.

She’d go watch, but to Hell with performing.

 

* * *

4:39 P.M., January 28th, 20YY

The small cell phone buzzed on Fate’s side table, bringing her attention to it instead of letting it remain on her homework like it should’ve, but nonetheless, her binder was placed to the side in favor of answering her ringing cell phone--a “welcome home” present according to Toriel, although all twelve-year-olds had phones these days. The goat Mother just probably didn’t want her feeling left out…

The ID read “Krystal”, and Fate answered it with an odd feeling in her SOUL. Usually when Krystal called--which was at least once every week--it had to do with something new and exciting about her fourteen-year-old life that a clueless twelve-year-old didn’t need to know. In a way, Krystal acted as an “older kid” mentor for her, and in another way, Krystal was just… well, being Krystal.

“Hi.” Fate answered simply, deciding to put her homework aside in favor of lying down and talking with her friend. She talked with Krystal more than the rest of her friends, so did that make Krystal her best friend? Maybe…

“Hello! I have quite the story for you if you wanna hear.” Krystal responded immediately, and Fate simply hummed in agreement, rolling over so she didn’t have to hold her phone.

Because, as per usual, Krystal’s story was long and nearly all detailed. She seemed to like details, and Fate couldn’t really blame her. After all, they both had very different lives but still texted as if technology was gonna give out at any moment--in which, it honestly could.

“So, we went up to his room because we aren’t animals--” Krystal explained, seeming to get to the whole point of her story. Fate decided to sit up because if she choked on her saliva like many other times, at least she would be prepared to cough it out of its odd place this time. “--and we had sex, but it wasn’t great. I left my plate with banana bread downstairs without realizing and only realized it by the time we were already snogging, so I couldn’t go get it. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and I felt kinda bad because he was trying to be sexy, and he was asking “So, what do you want?” like a normal masculine form would do, but I was all like “I want my fucking banana bread”.”

There was a pause as Fate blinked, and then tilted her head in confusion.

“That’s all? The whole story leads to that?” Fate questioned, and Krystal hummed in confirmation with a slight tone of shame from over the phone. Fate paused before getting to her feet and quietly closing the room’s door, and then sitting in the closet--which she also closed the door to. “I have some questions.”

“Okay, go ahead, but I promised not to tell the size of his dick.” Krystal told her, and Fate refrained from slapping her paw on her face.

“... I have a confession.” Fate admitted quietly, and Krystal merely hummed. She probably thought it was going to be something scandalous, but-- “I haven’t understood most of your stories because I’m completely oblivious to most of your words, and I’d like an explanation for multiple things. The list includes a lot of the material you’re talking about, and most of all sex because I don’t even know what that is.”

There was a very long silence, one that made Fate think that perhaps Krystal had hung up despite not having heard the dial tone. It only lasted a mere moment longer as Fate heard Krystal shift, most likely lying down, and then speak up.

“... Are you joking?” Krystal asked softly, sounding hopeful, but Fate stayed quiet out of shame. Krystal got her answer from there and Fate could’ve sworn that she heard the smack of a head to a wall, and then Krystal took a deep breath. “Okay. First of all, let’s try to define your sexual orientation, yah? You’ll learn a  **lot** of shit when you get into high school, but if you don’t know certain things, people might try to take advantage of you. Lemme tell ya girl; I am not gonna let that happen.”

There was a pause, and then Fate responded.

“... Um… a reminder that I’m twelve, and that I spent many of my years locked away from the outside world.” She softly reminded Krystal, who hummed in remembrance and understanding, and Fate took another pause before speaking up again. “... A-Also, what is “sexual orientation”? It’s being brought up once or twice, but it sounds like a cult…”

Krystal broke into laughter on the other side, making Fate’s cheeks go pink even as her friend calmed down to explain.

“Sexual Orientation just defines who you like. It doesn’t really matter, but it’s good to know when it comes to relationships of any kind.” Krystal explained, seeming to finally settle into the conversation seriously. “I’m Bisexual: I prefer males and females, but not so much non-binary people, like your siblings, because stuff can get insane. I prefer females over males, however, and that’s okay because that doesn’t change anything. I’m still Bi.” Fate hummed a bit in confirmation that she was listening and understood. “Who do you like, gender-wise?”

“Oh, uh…” Fate trailed off, leaning against the closet wall as she thought. “I, uh… don’t really mind what gender they are. There just has to be a connection.” Krystal hummed a bit.

“So you’re, like… Pansexual and Demisexual in ways. Pan means any gender and Demi means you gotta have a connection.” Krystal explained, and Fate hummed in understanding. There was a lot of humming going on… “We can elaborate on that later, but uh… You gotta tell me, Fate, what do you know about relationships? Like, just dating?”

“... Dating…?” Fate questioned both softly and in shame, and she could almost just hear how Krystal’s jaw had dropped over the line. “If you mean together in a mutual understanding of feelings, then I suppose that I understand.” Krystal seemed speechless for a moment, making small sounds of confusion, and then she spoke.

“Listen closely.” Krystal nearly warned, in which Fate squeaked in response. Was Krystal mad…? “A relationship is the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected or the state of being connected. It’s an emotional and/or sexual association between two people--or more, but let’s not get into that right now.” Fate nodded a bit to herself as she listened, feeling bad for having Krystal explain these kinds of things to her. She just really didn’t want to go to anyone else… “Dating is a stage of romantic relationships--”

“Romantic, like parents?” Fate cut off, trying to clarify, and Krystal hummed a bit.

“Yeah, sometimes.” Krystal confirmed, and Fate gave herself a nod, reminding herself to remember that. “Anyways, dating is a stage of romantic relationship whereby two people meet socially with the aim of each assessing the other’s suitability as a prospective partner in an intimate relationship or marriage. It’s a form of courtship, consisting of social activities done by the couple, either alone or with others.”

“... Oh… that makes sense, actually.” Fate told Krystal, who nodded frantically over the phone. The shaking hurt Fate’s ear a bit if she was going to be honest… 

“Yeah, and uh…” Krystal trailed off, suddenly stopping before speaking softly into the phone. “Honestly, Fate… sex--or at the moment for you, “the birds and the bees”--is something you should ask a parent about. It’s a parent's job to explain, aside from Sex Ed. classes.  **Oh God** , Sexual Education is so awkward, especially in eighth grade.” There was a pause. “... So, um, yeah, good talk.”

Fate let it sink in for a moment, frowning a bit, and then nodded to herself once more. Her ears flicked, adjusting to the sounds around her, and she heard Toriel calling her for dinner.

“... Good talk. I gotta go.” She told Krystal, who took a steady breath of relief from over the line. It had been an awkward conversation, after all.

But they both ended the call on good terms, and now Fate had some questions… but for which parent? Should she ask Toriel or Asgore, or even Craig? Perhaps Marcel was a better candidate?

She’d just have to figure it out.

 

* * *

12:02 P.M., January 31st, 20YY

Sunday afternoons had to be one of Fate’s favorite things. The house was always quiet, aside from whatever Asgore, Toby, and Ebony were doing. Toriel always had to go shopping or teach a Sunday class, and Sans always took Frisk, Chara, and Flowey to go do something. Usually, she and Asgore would spend the time apart, her reading and him gardening, but this particular Sunday afternoon was different. They were both stressed from different things, so they decided to settle down that Sunday by sitting in the garden and drinking tea. It also gave Toby and Ebony some garden time, which brought forth very different reactions from each of them.

Fate stirred a small spoon around in her golden flower tea, the metal clinking softly against the cool ceramic. Although she enjoyed different tea much more, the particular brew of golden flowers and naturally sweetening honey had such a unique taste that she couldn’t help but think of home. Asgore sat beside her, both of them on an old picnic blanket, and lifted his eyes from his cup of tea to a bird fluttering down to the blanket. He proceeded to stroke its back and tail feathers before it flew away again, and Fate couldn’t hide the smile that crept up her face.

The two of them went quiet before too long, simply enjoying each other’s presence as they drank. Eventually, however, Fate caught sight of Asgore’s paws, which were shaking like he was anticipating something unpleasant despite his smile. It reminded her of whenever she’d be taken down to the lab…

“... Are you alright?” Fate questioned, carefully setting her cup down, and Asgore glanced up to the singing birds overhead.

“Yes, of course.” He responded after a few moments of listening to their melody. “I was just thinking about some… tricky situations. It may have been many years of us living here on the surface already, but it may take many more years before we’re more than just recognized. While citizenship, jobs, and marriage rights are absolutely wonderful, equality still tends to waver on a thin line.”

Fate paused, biting down on her lip anxiously as she watched Toby plop over in the grass, deciding to take a nap. It would be a lie to say that monsters were completely recognized as people, especially across the globe, but Asgore merely chuckled over it as if it was a bad joke. Perhaps it was his way of coping with the responsibilities. It made her want to slink back in her spot, but as she thought for a while, she recalled how his voice reminded her of a favorite character of hers, from a favorite book of hers. She smiled a bit, getting up quickly and sprinting into the house, only to return with the book in her tiny paws--Asgore watching the whole thing curiously.

Motioning for him to join her, she laid down on the picnic blanket and smoothed out the page before her, and once Asgore was lying down beside her, she began to read to him. She wasn’t used to reading aloud and often stumbled over her words, but the ex-King of monsters was very patient, and she eventually read each word smoothly. As she read through the journey of two children raised in a small town many years ago, his expression changed frequently to match his emotions about everything that was happening.

Fate’s throat had become raw sometime halfway through part two of the story, but she pushed herself as far as she could go, only stopping when they both felt lightheaded. Setting the book aside, they decided to turn to watching the clouds slowly drift by, idly chatting about the shapes of them.

Sunday afternoons were definitely one of Fate’s favorite times.

 

* * *

4:04 P.M., February 1st, 20YY

When Asgore took Chara and Frisk out for an afternoon jog, Toriel was not expecting Fate to come downstairs to do her homework, as she usually stayed upstairs to do it. It wasn’t that Fate was getting in the way or clouding her conscience, and there wasn’t really a problem at all; the suddenly quiet demeanor of the young girl just scared her a bit. Everytime Fate got quiet, she tended to drift away and become unattached with everyone in her life. Toriel just really didn’t want that to happen again…

Which was why she stopped what she was doing when Fate asked a… slightly concerning question.

“When did you start dating? Or, like… courting, I guess, works better for you.”

Toriel had paused before immediately stopping all of her dinner preparations in favor of sitting down at the kitchen table with her youngest adopted child. Fate seemed uncomfortable with the conversation despite it just having been started, and Toriel couldn’t believe it had come up. Frisk and Chara had never asked, and she was sure that Fate would go to her siblings or friends, or perhaps even Craig. In any case, Toriel was between concerned and ecstatic to be having this conversation with at least one of her children.

“I never really “dated” or “courted” until Asgore came into my life, around the age of seventeen.” Toriel explained truthfully, and Fate twirled her mechanical pencil in her fingers anxiously. “Why do you ask?” There was a bit of a pause, and then Fate responded.

“I’m twelve, and I spent a lot of time… detached from the world. Some things have been popping up and I just… wanna know about them. If I don’t, then I’ll be irrational with everything happening around me.” She explained in response, causing Toriel to blink a couple of times before nodding a bit, seeming to try and understand.

“... Well, what would you like to know?” Toriel asked simply, and Fate let out a sigh, putting her pencil down on the table. She leaned forward, resting her head on her arms, and gave a small shrug. “Well… let us see… you are more of a statistics person with these kinds of things, are you not?” Fate paused before giving a small nod, lifting her head up again, and Toriel gave a nod in return, going silent.

“... If you don’t want to talk about it, we don’t have to…” Fate told her after a moment, but Toriel shook her head.

“I am merely trying to think, my child.” Toriel promised, leaning forward a bit as if the conversation was about to get serious. It scared Fate a little. “Hm… nearly 90% of kids between the ages of thirteen and eighteen say that they have been in dating relationships, and yet the topic has not gotten the attention it deserves. Do you at least know what a relationship is, or dating?”

“Yah.” Fate responded with a nod, flicking her ears like she did sometimes when she needed to remember something. It might’ve just been a habit, but who knew? “A relationship is the way in which two or more people are connected or the state of being connected. It’s, like… an emotional and/or sexual association between two people--or more, apparently, but who knows anymore…?”

It had happened. Toriel knew it would, but she didn’t think it would happen so quickly. In spite of any hope she had of slowing down the clock, she had awakened to find that her children weren’t so childlike anymore. Suddenly, hormones were raging, romantic feelings were developing, and, of course, it didn’t stop there. Before she knew it, her children might enter the dating world. From Fate’s questioning and anxiety on the subject, Toriel was given the feeling that something might be going on with that part of her life.

“My child, would you be willing to discuss the crucial aspects of relationships?” Toriel questioned seriously, and Fate seemed to cower for a moment before giving a frantic nod.

“... I would like that, I think.” She agreed. Toriel took a deep breath and gave a stern nod, clasping her paws together on the table.

“Well, first off, I’d like to define a healthy relationship. It’s not only because you have had a bad experience in the past, but because I would like you to have a healthy relationship now and in the future.” Toriel explained as Fate leaned back in her chair, preparing to listen. “A healthy relationship comes from respect, mutual understanding, trust, honesty, communication, and support. A relationship should consist of healthy boundaries that are established and respected by both partners equally. A good partner will accept you as you are, support your personal choices, and praise you for your achievements. A healthy relationship also allows both partners to maintain outside interests and friendships, and does not hinder the personal freedom of either partner.”

Toriel took a moment to catch her breath, and to allow Fate to settle in with the information, before continuing.

“There is a difference between lust, infatuation, and love. Infatuation is not the same as love; it may give butterflies, goosebumps, and that “cannot eat, cannot sleep” type of feeling, but it isn’t the same as love. Love takes time to grow, whereas infatuation may happen almost instantly.”

“... What is lust, then?” Fate asked after a moment, genuinely curious, and Toriel had no issue with explaining it.

“It is a very strong sexual desire of someone.” Toriel started, and by how Fate sunk in her chair, she seemed to know where the conversation was going whether she understood it or not. “Sexuality refers to a person’s habits and preferences in terms of sexual behavior and desire, and the concept of sexuality is complex and personal. Sexual intimacy is for many, a highly satisfying and fulfilling experience. For some individuals, sexual activity is void of pleasure. Some people simply have no desire and that is alright.”

“But what  **is** it?” Fate suddenly questioned, and Toriel took a pause before responding.

“Well, it is different from love. Love is an emotion or a feeling. There is no one definition of love because it can mean many different things to many different people. Love is an emotional feeling that involves feelings of romance and/or attraction. Sex, on the other hand, is a biological event or physical act. There are different kinds that can happen between a male and a female, between two females, between two males, or by one’s self--”

“Alone?” Fate questioned suddenly again, and Toriel gave a no. Fate didn’t have a lot of questions, but she had the ones that dug deep.

“We can elaborate on that some other time, alright?” Toriel asked, and Fate paused before giving a nod, ready to listen again. “... Back to dating, my child, I would like you to know that I will support you every step of the way whether I like it or not. I can drop you off places or pick you up whenever you need me to, and other such things. I am here to listen if you think there is something going on that you want to talk about.”

There was a long pause full of heavy silence that unnerved Toriel a bit, but Fate finally gave a small nod. It was very small, but it was there, and after a moment, the youngest Dreemurr seemed to open up to her motherly figure.

“... I think I’m in a dating relationship with someone, but we’ve never actually gone out on a date. I’m, uh… oblivious to this stuff, most of the time, so I’m not sure.” Fate told Toriel, who relaxed from the awkward conversation before this one, and the goat Mother nodded in understanding. “You know him, I promise, and he’s a good person, I just… I dunno, I’d have to get back to you on it.”

“That is quite alright.” Toriel assured the young girl, getting to her feet so she could continue the preparations for dinner. “... I am glad that you had this talk with me, Fate. I am always here whenever you need to know something.”

Fate seemed to brighten up at that, giving a smile and a sure nod, which gave Toriel the comfort to go back into the kitchen and continue her cooking. However, Fate had one more question.

“By the way, what’s a date?” She asked, wanting to hear what Toriel had to say even as she began to chop up the carrots.

“Oh! It is when two people get together for an activity when the possibility of romance between them has been broached, but not ruled out. Since the exploration of romance is the purpose of a date, merely asking someone out on a date is sufficient to broach the subject. Dates may or may not continue once a couple have entered into a romantic relationship.”

Fate simply nodded, but once Toriel was distracted, she quickly headed to the bathroom in order to call a certain someone. She sighed in relief upon hearing his voice on the other line, thanking any higher power that he had answered…

“Hey, Destiny… yah, hey, haha… uh, I was wondering… would you perhaps like to go on a date sometime…?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, this should be fun.


	15. There's No Use In Lying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Destiny and Fate go on a date, Danny ropes Fate into performing at the Ebott talent show as a favor for him, and a confession is made. Go big or go home, y'all.
> 
> Also, say hello to Ethan!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wOW THIS WAS ACTUALLY VERY HARD TO WRITE PLEASE APPRECIATE MY TIME AND EFFORT I LOVE ALL OF YOU PLEASE ENJOY

4:00 P.M., February 14th, 20YY

“It doesn’t matter if you see him everyday! You need to prepare yourself!”

Fate was nearly done with her siblings and friends. It didn’t matter who she texted or who she called or who she approached, everyone had the same thing to say about her date with Destiny, which was in an hour. Her last resort had been Krystal, considering that most of her “dates” didn’t add up with Fate’s way of doing things, but the fourteen-year-old girl had the same things to say as everyone else.

“But Krystal… how do you even prepare yourself for a date? Frisk said not to eat anything so I’ve been starving ever since lunch, Chara said to wear something nice so I’ve torn apart the closet, and all of my parents are simply concerned for my well-being.” Fate explained, and Krystal didn’t even get a chance to talk before her pretty much best friend was freaking out over the phone. “Asgore said to be humble so I’ve been practicing like an idiot in front of the mirror, Toriel said  to not do anything bad in a really weird tone so I’ve been going over that in my head, Marcel said no to be out past eight at the latest despite not living with me anymore, and  **oh my God, Craig** !”

Krystal could only listen as Fate vented about her experience, which had barely even started yet.

“Craig said he would kill Destiny if he did anything to hurt me, not to go anywhere that involved party-type things and to slap him if he tried to kiss me--which is a part of the experience, right!? I mean, Destiny never would because he’s already promised to let me take the lead on those things because of my bad experiences, but that’s not the point. The point is Craig was willing to stalk us while we were on our date to make sure that nothing bad happened, and now I’m worried that he actually might despite promising not to and--”

“Whoa, whoa, take a deep breath.” Krystal cut in, stopping the younger girl before she could have a panic attack. Fate’s deep breath sounded a lot more like a dragon trying to breathe fire only the choke on said fire. “I’ll guide you because believe it or not, I’ve been on a proper first date before. It was a while ago, but I still remember it despite the guy being an asshole, so I understand how you feel.”

Fate was silent, so Krystal took that as an opening to tell her friend what to do. She wasn’t the best with dates when it came to her, but when it came to others, she was willing to be serious.

“Look your best. Everyone deserves to show off their best features all the time. Since you see Destiny every day, you can increase his interest by showing off your best features. If you look your best, you’ll feel more comfortable and confident. In my opinion, some of your best features are your freckles, your smile, and your legs. Your freckles are cute, your smile lights up any room, and your legs may be two little stumps, but I’ve seen you kick.”

“... It sounds like you’re infatuated with me.” Fate told her, shuffling around for a moment before humming in agreement with herself. “I think I have an outfit now, though… thank you.”

“No problem! Still, need advice?” Krystal asked with a smile, glad to have helped, and then heard Fate hum in agreement with her. More advice it was… “Okay, be intriguing. Keep him wanting more, but don’t give too much away in small conversations before the date. Instead, answer his questions with something that could lead to a deeper conversation later. For example: if he asks a question along the lines of “What do you like to do for fun?” answer with something vague, such as “Well, I love adventures.” By leaving the answer open-ended, he’ll want to continue asking those questions and gets to know more about you.”

There was a pause.

“... That’s actually clever.” Fate admitted in response, almost able to just hear how Krystal was radiating with glee. “What else?”

“Get to know his interests and let him entertain you. People enjoy talking about themselves so prepare by getting some questions ready to ask during the date. For example you could say, “I noticed you have a basketball at your desk, do you like to play?” There is room for compromise, but don’t change yourself for the sake of the guy’s interests and don’t expect him to always do what interests you.” Krystal explained, listening to Fate hum along while she talked. “Stay calm and confident. Avoid getting flustered and nervous. If you become over-excited or overwhelmed, you’ll--”

“Increase my blood pressure and my body will react with anxiety by becoming sweaty and/or shaky and I may even become sick to my stomach. I’m gonna drink ginger ale before I go to help relax it.” Fate explained, in which Krystal hummed in agreement to. There was a pause, and then Fate spoke again. “... Hey, you said something about “flirting” once. Should I worry about that?”

Krystal burst into laughter on the other side of the line.

 

* * *

4:30 P.M., February 14th, 20YY

Destiny had found out a little too late, thanks to all three of his siblings, that there was no one key to dating--and especially to dating girls. Everyone was different, he always knew that, but now he knew it too well and too late. What impresses one girl may repel another, but that’s just a chance he was going to have to take in half an hour now. Regardless of Fate’s preferences, however, Gale had happily stayed over the phone from college to help him out with the universal rules of dating that would help him, instead of studying for midterms.

“Project confidence because one of the most attractive qualities a potential date can have is palpable confidence. Girls, or guys, will be interested in you if you seem to have a lot going on: you’re involved in activities, you have friends, you speak your opinion, and you have long-term goals. What’re yours?” Gale questioned as Destiny failed once more to tie a tie, and simply scrapped that outfit idea. It was casual, not fancy, what the Hell was he thinking?

“I’m involved in the theatre team in high school because of Cass, I have a couple of friends I guess, I speak my opinion when I don’t get anxious about doing so, and my only long-term goal is living this damn life.” Destiny replied to his older brother despite being muffled from pulling off his sweater vest. God, what was he gonna wear?

Nonetheless, Gale gave a heavy cough from across the line.

“Well, uh… only talk about the theatre stuff, maybe?” Gale suggested, and Destiny groaned, hitting his head against the wall. “It’s okay, we’re just getting started! Um… well, something I know you can do is be genuine. You’re an awful liar, not that you ever lie in the first place unless forced. Don’t pretend to be someone you aren’t, Destiny, because she’ll see right through it. There’s nothing wrong with reading up on something that she likes, but don’t pretend to know about it. Be real, and you won’t have to lie.”

“Yah, yah… I got that…” Destiny seemed to promise, simply slipping on a jacket over his dress shirt and blue jeans. It definitely worked better than a sweater vest and a dumb tie…

“Don’t dwell too much on her appearance. Everyone likes receiving compliments, but that shouldn’t be the main topic of the conversation.” Gale continued.

Destiny merely hummed along, taking a seat on his bed. He had about twenty minutes until the date and their meeting point was ten minutes away, so he had time to simply relax and let the stress go. Who knew that getting prepared for a date could be so stressful…?

“Be a sincere conversationalist, and avoid pick up lines because they don’t sound sincere. Let her get comfortable because it’s very important that she feels comfortable being herself with you.” Gale told him, and he lied back on his bed with a sigh. “Put effort into it, Destiny. It’s your first date. Don’t get too nervous, don’t get too physical, and be reliable.”

Destiny’s alarm when off to tell him that he had fifteen minutes, and he quickly shut it off so he could say goodbye to his brother.

“I’ll do my best, Gale.” He sighed, sitting up and kicking the edge of his bed a couple of times. “I gotta go, though, so I’ll let you know what happened when I get home, okay?”

“Sounds great! I have to get back to studying anyways.” Gale admitted, making Destiny snicker a bit. “Talk to you later, little brother.”

They both hung up at the same time, and it took a moment for Destiny to get to his feet in order to head out.

He just really hoped that this night wouldn’t end up as a disaster…

 

* * *

5:01 P.M., February 14th, 20YY

In the light orange, humble atmosphere of the cafe, their knees almost touching under the narrow table. First dates were… well, awkward.

From the corner of her eye, Fate caught a young woman staring at them, her lank, mousey hair falling in ribbons about her color-drained t-shit. In her hand was a small writing pad and a biro; she was a waitress. They each ordered what they wanted, but once the waitress left, the awkward silence returned quickly. When their orders arrived, that’s when they started to make small talk.

“... I, uh… like your outfit.” Destiny complimented, and Fate’s eyes ran down over it for a moment before she lifted her head with a thankful smile. It was really simple: her straw hat because she never went anywhere without it, a white dress shirt, a light blue overall dress, and a pair of light and dark orange boots.

“I like yours, too.” She responded simply, trying to keep her voice from shaking anxiously, and Destiny gave her a thankful grin in return.

However, when he took a sip of his hot cocoa, words suddenly plagued her mind and gnawed at her, begging to be said. Perhaps this happened a lot, more times than she would’ve expected. Maybe he got himself into these situations, and that’s what made her long to say it. She was worried that he might be upset when he heard it, though…

But she had to.

“Destiny…” She addressed, and he glanced over at her without any suspicion in his gaze. Her face felt warm; she told herself it was because she’d been sipping her own hot cocoa. It certainly wasn’t because of those shimmering hazel green eyes falling on her had such an effect. She took a breath and said the words that had been on the tip of her tongue. “You have whipped cream on your nose.”

Destiny lifted a paw to his face before suddenly laughing.

“Aw, man… This happens a lot. You can’t take me anywhere!” He insisted through his laughter, but a part of her wondered that perhaps, beneath that humor, there was a sense of insecurity. It could’ve been the same one she had; that something would go wrong, that they would mess something up, that they would change in each other’s eyes.

She could realize how wrong he was about all of that, though, whether she was or not. She loved every little thing about him, and she was far too determined to ever give up on her feelings. So, she simply took a sip of her cocoa, but this time, she purposely let the marshmallow whipped cream hit her nose.

“There. Now we match.” She told him, grinning because she knew that her giddy feeling had nothing to do with the sugar and everything to do with him.

He paused and stared, blinked a couple of times, and then broke into quiet laughter before leaning forward and giving her a gentle kiss on the nose. He took some of the whipped cream with him.

From the outside, it must’ve been odd to those peering in. It looked exactly as it should have that Valentine’s day with a bunch of couples hanging about the cafe, but with the two young monsters, it must’ve been odd to those around them that two small cats with purposely getting whipped cream on their noses. They laughed about it and they were having a nice time. For one shining moment, they were just kids; two smiling kids and two fools in love.

 

* * *

 

 

6:30 P.M., February 14th, 20YY

People in Ebott walked like the way a gas filled a jar; no matter how few of them there were, all space will be taken. It was like they were programmed to get as far from one another as possible, making no eye contact and moving fast. On this fine day, the city folk almost strut. Gone were the heads down bustles of the winter time, every figure clad in thick duffle or dark wool. People walked so differently. Some almost skipped, others walked as if they were boarding a badly kept bus, then there were the nervous ones.

For a certain pair of happy monsters that night, they walked together paw-in-paw while chatting about anything and everything they could. Fate walked along a high curb, challenging herself to balance, while Destiny walked properly on the sidewalk and held her paw to make sure she wouldn’t fall. If she did, at least he would get a quick signal to catch her. He didn’t mind her silly antics and, in fact, quite enjoyed them. He enjoyed watching her so determined to do something and having such a fun time, and he loved hearing her happy giggles laced with fear everytime she took a stride.

He never considered himself a dreamer, but man… did he ever enjoy taking in details.

Determination definitely drove Fate on. No matter how many times she got knocked down, she would get up and persevere as if it was something everyone did. She was so kind as well, and her naivety only added to her kindness in a way. Eyes plastered on the ground, she stared at her boots steady on the curb while he cold painted bright pink on her freckled cheeks and the breeze rustled her soft fur around aimlessly.

Why everyone else was in such a rush was beyond them both. Everyone marched ahead in the street, they strode down lanes on the way to their destinations and disappeared from view, while Destiny and Fate were simply enjoying their time. They liked to take things in. It was like everyone else was sped up and blinkered. There was so much that others failed to notice, and yet they complained quietly about the two dawdling as if it concerned them. The pair of young monsters didn’t find it within themselves to care, simply continuing on with how they had been going.

Eventually, Fate finally fell from the curb and Destiny was able to stabilize her on the sidewalk, but not before one of her ankles decided to give out. Instead of her getting embarrassed or him getting annoyed, they both made jokes about the situation and compromised with Destiny giving Fate a piggyback ride to her place--as long as they talked the whole way there. Neither of them minded the conditions and within moments, they were heading back to the Dreemurr home while talking to each other.

In any case, it was safe to say that their first official date had gone well.

 

* * *

5:00 P.M., February 28th, 20YY

It was Monday, February twenty-eighth at five o’clock, and Ethan was sitting in the auditorium of his school involuntarily. He would rather do something else, anything else, but he was too curious about who Akina was talking about not to join her in enduring through the long and painful acts until her friends performed. He was actually rather surprised at the turnout of Ebott citizens crowding the Ebott Secondary auditorium; he hadn’t expected so many people to indulge in watching the show, although he assumed that about half of them were just there to make fun of the others when the show was over.

He sighed out in boredom from beside his closest friend, picking at the bandage wrapped around his head solely for his right eye--or, at least, what was left of it. Many freak accidents happened in Ebott and him losing his right eye at the age of fourteen was one of them, albeit he was one of the few “miracles” by simply surviving. None of dared to talk to him after the incident aside from his sister until Akina came along, and then, all of the sudden, he had a whole group of friends. He was as outgoing and exuberant as he was before the accident now, thanks to her.

Either way, this was merely a small favor that he had to go through if he wanted to have her over so they could work on their project together. He knew where she lived, but she didn’t know where he lived, hence the whole tagging-along-to-the-dumb-talent-show thing.

Ethan nearly fell asleep out of boredom while watching the acts--horrible acting, dreadful singing, chaotic bands--but he jolted awake when he heard two certain names. One of them Akina’s mentioned friend, Danny Cameron, and the other as one many had heard because she was the biggest miracle in Ebott, supposedly--Fate Dreemurr.

“Oh, I didn’t know that Danny had roped Fate of all people into singing the song he wrote!” Was all Akina had to say on the matter, so Ethan simply sat there, watching as a young boy sat at the piano in a white dress shirt and a plaid purple skirt.

He wasn’t distracted for much longer when a young cat monster came out onto the stage after him, obviously flustered and reluctant to perform. He couldn’t blame her, but at the same time, his mind was wandering elsewhere. She was certainly… not what he had expected. She stood at roughly two feet and eleven inches with electric sapphire blue eyes and simple gray fur with a straw hat atop her head, freckles scattering her cheekbones and the bridge of her nose. In her simple black and blue dress, it was easy to see many of her bandaged-covered injuries and scars, but those were to be expected.

Danny started to play the piano after sharing what looked like a reassuring look with Fate, and after the intro, she began to sing.

Ethan felt stupid for having known that was what she was doing. All he could really focus on was her voice anyways, which was beautiful; clear and hitting each pitch precisely, but her voice itself was a thing of indescribable splendor that resounded through his head. Even if it was just her voice and Danny’s piano playing, they didn’t need a whole band for the song to sound perfect. He wasn’t sure if he could ever forget it. He had goosebumps just listening to her. He paid attention all through the song, catching each and every word as she never wavered, confidence building up and allowing her to stand tall.

“ **_I don’t think that passenger seat, has ever looked this good to me. She tells me about her night, and I get lost in her amber eyes. She’s fallen in love this time, she swears, as she runs her fingers through her messy hair. I’m laughing, ‘cause I hope she’s wrong, and I don’t think it ever crossed her mind, that when I glare at her it serves her right. But I know all her favorite songs, and I could tell you, she makes the best of the worst. She’s just so reckless, born in Lanuarius._ ** ”

The small group that got to sit together made a slight connection and looked at Adar before hearing “Lanuarius”. When Ethan explained that it meant January in Latin, however, they all returned to glancing at the oblivious girl before them. When would she catch on…? By this point, Jasmine was losing it and taking notes at the same time, surely ready to forever remember this and use it to tease her older sibling.

“ **_She says all those people are beautiful. She has metallic eyes, and if you asked me if I love her, I’d lie._ ** ”

As Danny played the interlude, Adar seemed to be going over the words Fate had sung, albeit in denial. Danny had written it and had said that he  **loved** whoever the song was about. Danny didn’t love her… maybe he just wanted to change the song, so she kept the whole “love” part, but didn’t know what to change about the girl, so he just described her. It didn’t mean that he loved her…

“ **_She struts into the room,_ ** ”

Damn. Adar obviously really hoped the song wasn’t about her now. She did not  **strut** ! Well, actually…

“ **_Bothers me and I avoid the truth, that I have fallen for an idiot like her. Doesn’t she know that every word she says makes my head spin? She adds color to black and white, but she’s never let anybody see her cry. I will let nobody see me wishing she was mine. I could tell you, she makes the best of the worst. She’s just so reckless, born in Lanuarius. She says all those people are beautiful. She has metallic eyes, and if you asked me if I love her, I’d lie. She tells me those jokes that never get old._ **

Adar was a bit of a jokester, and she vaguely wondered if Danny was just purposely dropping hints about her. But why would he do that?

“ **_I’m way too serious, that’s what I’m told._ ** ”

Boy, was that the truth. Danny never took a break from studying until he was sure that he could ace a pop quiz, and when he was sure, he simply read books or played video games. He was a super serious boy.

“ **_You’re an idiot, but I love you,_ ** ”

Fate held the note and everyone waited, but nothing really came after that in the line. They were certain that there was something after that which she may have been leaving out. “I love you” didn’t exactly rhyme with “old” or, “told”, so there had to have been something she had excluded, but why?

“ **_She’d never tell you, but she thinks I’m a star. She tries to catch what she already has, and that’s my heart. First thought when I wake up, is she’s stupid but beautiful, so I put aside makeup, and I pray for a miracle. Yes, I could tell you, she makes the best of the worst. She’s just so reckless, how does she make it work? She tells me that I’m handsome, she has metallic eyes. And if you ask me if I love her, don’t you ask me if I love her, ‘cause I’d lie._ ** ”

The crowd clapped when the final note rang out, but Adar found herself sitting in the same spot, staring at the stage, paralyzed until Ethan gave her a tap on the shoulder. The talent show had ended and when it drew to a close, everyone left the auditorium to greet their friends and family who had performed. Milling around in the hallways and giving out flowers, the small group of friends who could make it met up with Danny and Fate.

Almost immediately, Danny had grabbed Adar’s hand and began dragging her out of the front doors of the school, in which everyone let them go. They had a feeling that neither of them would go too far, and would definitely come back sooner or later. Until then, they chatted amongst themselves, introducing Fate and Ethan to each other. They clicked like a puzzle piece right away, immediately conversing and breaking into laughter from things the other said.

It was quite the night.

 

* * *

7:03 P.M., February 28th, 20YY

Danny had led Adar over to where the outer courtyard was and to a large, looming oak tree. The stars glittering in the cloudless, dark blue night sky and the bright, shining moon were enough to illuminate their path, and for him to see Adar when he turned to face her. In that instant, he almost wished that he hadn’t dragged her out there; the moonlight playing off of her features made her even more beautiful and made his throat drier.

“I thought you were really good. I mean… I’ve only ever heard you play piano once, but I never know you wrote songs.” Adar managed to get out, tensing slightly at the awkward atmosphere, and Danny simply nodded in thanks, sticking his hands in his pockets. “... I got your clue, but the third verse seemed to be a bit altered.”

“I changed it.” Danny admitted with a nod. “I didn’t want Fate singing what the last line of it really was in front of everyone… but I can sing it for you now…”

Adar couldn’t help but grin as Danny started up, not meeting his gaze and instead closed his eyes as he began to sing without music. I seemed almost like right then, under the picturesque night sky beneath an oak tree with everything else dead silent and no one but them around, Danny sounded wonderful. Maybe it was because he had put his heart and soul into singing, and it was just for her to hear.

“ **_She tells me those jokes that never get old. I’m way too serious, that’s what I’m told. You’re an idiot, but I love you, Adar._ ** ”

Adar stared at him, wide-eyed. So it was true that everything he said in the song, about how stupid she was and how she made him feel whenever she talked about someone else with the slightest bit of interest, but that he really loved her, was about her. It was about her all along and he had been having such feelings that he needed to express it in some way, and actually had to guts to, unlike her. When Danny dared to open his eyes again, he blushed at how much Adar had leaned in. He took a step back but conveniently ran into the tree.

She didn’t have a stupid grin on like he had expected if she was going to make fun of her for his confession. He had been debating for weeks whether or not he should have Fate sing the song he wrote for her, and he’d finally had to courage to, so he didn’t want to be rejected.

But Adar’s expression was serious, her amber eyes that he loved so much were sincere as she lifted her chin, and she leaned close enough so that their noses were touching. Danny was certain that if he didn’t have something as stable as a tree behind him, he would’ve melted. Adar herself was still nervous to lean in the way she did, but she knew that if Danny had the bravery to go up in front of everyone and play a tune, letting his song be sung and indirectly confessing until later when he had underneath the shade of the tree, then she could do this.

She closed the gap between the two of them, and they kissed. They insisted that was all it had been and that, indeed, it had been that simple. They admitted to sharing some words and having gotten a little closer, but that was all.

After all, their love for one another wasn’t a lie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have two new ships.
> 
> Someone make a ship name for Danny and Adar, and Destiny and Fate. ThEy'Ve SeT sAiL!!


	16. Any Given Psycho

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Alright." He said into the phone, determination dripping into his voice. "I'll help you, but I'm gonna need a slingshot, a book report, and a bag of old makeup."
> 
> Some things were just not meant to follow what the book says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, this was fun to write.
> 
> This features the high school kids, y'all.

4:30 P.M., March 25th, 20YY

“Every morning I wake up in the armpit of this alien world.” Tahir Harju moaned dismally, which annoyed everyone at the same table as him.

“Well, aren’t you just slap happy on this fine afternoon?” Janiyah observed lazily, and with sarcasm, which only annoyed Tahir in return.

“Slap happy would be a word better directed towards Ethan.” The grumpy Indian boy snapped a bit, jabbing a dull pencil in the direction of his perpetually infuriating friend. Ethan merely scowled in response, barely focusing on his work. “And I don’t appreciate the sarcasm.”

“I’m certainly not slap happy right now, Tahir.” Ethan proclaimed simply before becoming dramatic. “I’m so  **bored** …”

No one paid him any attention.

“All of my observations are based on sarcasm.” Janiyah murmured dryly, and Ethan finally sat up straight for the first time since the group had sat down in the library--all for different subjects.

“What are you working on, Janiyah?” He questioned, and the fact that he would even bother starting a conversation that could end up being ten seconds or ten minutes--because this was Janiyah--proved that he was truly bored.

“... An art project…” Janiyah replied quite dismissively, staring holes into a canvas that had become her center of attention. From beside her, Krystal frowned, her forehead creasing like the fine pages of a fallen, crumpling book.

“Aren’t you supposed to work with partners on that one?” She questioned, having also been taking the same art class, but hers was mercifully in a different period than Janiyah’s. It was like a gift from the higher powers because the two were just good enough friend to choose each other as partners, but just bad enough enemies to kill each other in the process of the said project.

“I don’t want to fail just because other people have terrible taste.” Janiyah sighed, not even glancing up at Krystal as she delicately swooped her pencil across the taut fabric.

“How lovely of you to care.” Tahir droned, and Krystal puffed out her cheeks.

“Don’t sound so superior, Mr. Stuck-in-the-armpit-of-an-alien-world.” She snapped, but Tahir barely reacted simply because of how tired he was.

“By that, I mean high school and the cesspit that is my friendship with  **all of you** .”

The quartet had set up in the back area of Ebott Secondary’s library, their homework spread before them on the table that they had pretty much claimed. It was just in front of a window, giving Ethan the chance to be distracted as the sun emerged from behind heavy gray clouds, throwing bits of light everywhere. It was still that time of year for pop quizzes, and Ethan  **loathed** all types of quizzes, exams, and tests. He wasn’t a horrible student and, in fact, was quite bright contrary to popular belief. He just loathed the constant nagging and complaining and studying of his more serious friends. Even Krystal was agonizing over her algebra worksheets. Ethan had plenty of things he could have and probably should have been doing, but he just didn’t have the patience. Yet, every time he whined about wanting to do something fun considering it was Friday, Tahir would hush him harshly.

Tahir wasn’t a horrible guy; he just had a permanent bitch face, a corrosive temper, and a mood like a rotten apple.

Janiyah painted. Krystal wrestled with numbers. Tahir scribbled steadily. Ethan skylarked.

After a while, a shrill cry pierced the library: Tahir’s cell phone. One of the librarians glared at him sharply, causing him to flinch as if her eyes had physically impaled him, and Ethan would admit that librarians could be frightening. Tahr’s expression was apologetic as he silenced his phone by answering it only for another shrill cry sounded out, but this time, it was only Cindy Hanson shrieking through the phone. Tahir yanked it away from his ear until she quieted down if only a little.

“Cindy…?” He questioned cautiously, and everyone could hear frantic chattering from the other side. “Cindy, Cindy--slow down. Start from the beginning. I can’t--Cindy, I can’t  **understand** what you’re trying to say!” There was a pause, and then Tahir appeared to choke. “ **What** !?”

“What is it?” Janiyah asked, mildly concerned and yet not because she didn’t spare a glance.

“You want to talk to  **Ethan** ?” Tahir asked Cindy, his pragmatic monotone broken by that exclamation. Ethan immediately snatched the phone from the Indian boy, even as Janiyah and Krystal finally spared them with their attention.

“What can I do for you?” Ethan questioned, very interested, and Krystal seemed too distracted by this new drama to look for X as she leaned across the table to hear better.

“ _ Ethan, I am in  _ **_desperate_ ** _ need of your evil genius. _ ” Cindy begged, her tone laced with desperation. Ethan frowned, able to tell that this was actually serious and contrary to popular belief, Ethan could be serious if he chose to be.

“What’s wrong, Cindy?” He demanded, and Cindy took a deep breath before starting.

“ _ Cass is going on a date today. _ ”

Ethan blinked. That was it, he simply blinked, and then responded with a bored expression--albeit Cindy couldn’t see it.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” He asked, wondering why Cindy Hanson was so worried about little Cass Allyn, who was much smarter than her very own twin brother. She was in high school without him, however, so maybe that’s what caused such worry to Cindy, who was close friends with both of them.

“ **_No_ ** _! _ ” Cindy howled in despair. “ _ She’s been at my house all afternoon, but she just left, and I need to follow her, but I don’t have a car I can use, and-- _ ”

“So, this is a spying predicament?” Ethan questioned, knowing how Cindy was notorious for her meddlesome ways. To his surprise, however, Cindy screamed at him.

“ _ NO. LISTEN TO ME, ETHAN. _ ” Cindy sighed after screaming, catching her breath for a very quick moment. Ethan could almost imagine her pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. “ _ Cass is going on a date with someone that  _ **_isn’t Olivia_ ** _. She came over and told me, and obviously, I freaked out because Calivia is my OTP-- _ ”

“Calivia?” Ethan interjected with a confused expression despite knowing that it was Cass and Olivia’s names meshed together, but Cindy only continued as if he hadn’t spoken up.

“-- _ but Cass really doesn’t think that Olivia likes her. I tried telling her that Olivia is just clueless, but she wouldn’t listen. Cass had confidence problems, and she’s for some reason convinced that Olivia won’t ever like her--which is absurd; the damn girl is  _ **_smitten_ ** _ , she just doesn’t know how to communicate like a normal being--and so, when Brett Paterson asked her on a date, she said yes. _ ”

“But… why is that a problem?” Ethan questioned, knowing that it would’ve been nice to see Olivia and Cass together, but it seemed that they were star-crossed.

“ _ Because Brett isn’t going to show up. _ ”

And there it was. The reason why Cindy--who would have been excited for Cass about any social situation--was so against this date. Ethan should’ve guessed it. Cass was so sweet, but it took time to get to know her. It took patience for her to let someone through her heavily-guarded petals to see the flowery, funny girl within. Ethan had been friends with her just long enough for her to be simply comfortable around him, but he knew that she came off as awkward and anxious. Perhaps that was why Brett wouldn’t be attending their date, or maybe it was that Cass wasn’t gorgeous--and was a monster. She was rather plain-looking, but it was the little things that made her quietly beautiful, and monster-human relationships never really worked out just yet in time.

It killed Ethan to imagine Cass waiting around for an idiot who would never show up.

“Alright.” He said into the phone, determination dripping into his voice. “I’ll help you, but the plan will take a minute to devise. I’m putting you on speakerphone.” He did just that, setting Tahir’s phone in the center of the table. Janiyah, interest finally piqued, raised a sly eyebrow at Ethan, who hated when she did that. It was infuriatingly sassy. “Cindy, brief the forces--Tahir, Janiyah, and Krystal.”

Ethan whipped out his own phone as Cindy brought the other three up to speed, her word a bit jumbled and most definitely and hasty mess.

“Do we know where Cass is going?” Tahir questioned his best friend.

“ _ No. _ ” Cindy replied with a heavy sigh. “ _ She refused to tell me. She thought I would try to mess things up--which, in all fairness, is what I would do--and all I know is that she went back to her house to get ready. She normally asks me to help her with these things, since she’s no good with all of it, but I don’t think she really wants to talk to me at the moment. I said a lot of things about how she shouldn’t go and I think it just made her more nervous. _ ”

“Where is Olivia, by any chance?” Janiyah questioned, taking on the case and setting her pencil down.

When Ethan snuck a peek at her sketch, she found it was a girl’s profile that looked too similar to Krystal to be a coincidence. Instead of Cindy answering Janiyah’s question, Krystal let out a few barks of sheepish, awkward laughter.

“Funny story about that!” She laughed, gathering everyone’s attention. “See, Olivia and I were playing baseball in the courtyard yesterday and--”

“She’s in detention, isn’t she?” Janiyah cut her off, and Krystal gave a simple nod.

“Principal Bennett did  **not** appreciate a baseball hitting his car, but thankfully, I got away before he saw me. Olivia was the real culprit anyways--that girl can  **swing** .” Krystal explained, and Ethan held his phone to his ear, silently praying that the line would be picked up.

It was.

“ _ Hello. _ ” A bored voice sounded out, and Ethan brightened up considerably.

“Adar!” Ethan let out in relief. “I really need your help! Where are you?”

“ _ I’m in the vestibule. _ ” The wolf-phoenix hybrid responded, sounding unamused, and Ethan mumbled something about that perhaps being a part of a train. Adar seemed to consider it. “ _ It’s a foyer. Learn some damn vocabulary, other than curses. _ ”

“You curse like a sailor.” Ethan pointed out, and Adar hummed in agreement. “... So, you’ll help me?” Adar hummed again, but less in agreement and more so in “depending on what it is”. “I need you to pick up Cindy, and then bring her to the school.”

“ _ First of all, I’m still at the school, in the lobby. _ ” Adar explained, causing Ethan to roll his eyes. “ _ Second, I won’t bring Cindy. _ ” Ethan made a sound, but before he could ask, Adar was responding. “ _ I’m in the vestibule, writing a book report. _ ”

“ **Damn it** !” Ethan cursed loudly, only going quiet when the librarian gave him a sharp glare. Jesus, librarians were fucking  **terrifying** … “So, you can’t go get Cindy, Olivia is in detention, we don’t know where to go, and Cass is going to be all alone.”

They all needed some sort of panacea.

Adar didn’t know what Ethan was talking about, but the idea of a lonely Cass was enough to make any one of their friends reconsider things.

“ _ Take care of my book report, and I’ll get the pesky girl _ .” Adar reconsidered, and Ethan immediately jumped on the opportunity.

“ **I’ll do it** .” He promised seriously, and Adar simply hung up. Ethan then turned to his group, including Cindy who was still over the phone. “Okay, I’m gonna need a slingshot, a book report, and a bag of old makeup.”

With that announcement, he continued on to explain his plot, which was something any given psycho could come up with. Then again, perhaps any given psycho was an evil genius in their own way.

 

* * *

4:49 P.M., March 25th, 20YY

Ethan employed Quinn Aelin as his slingshot person.

Quinn was a friend of his who was slightly short for their age, who he met through Janiyah and Krystal. Quinn continuously claimed that they were  **not** friends with the bickering duo, but they loved the pair and loved to hate the two girls. Their reign of terror over the school’s gardening program made them famous for all sorts of pranks having to do with plats of different kinds; not loud and attention-calling pranks like the ones Ethan pulled, but pranks nonetheless. So, Ethan reason with himself that Quinn would have the original pranking gadget: the slingshot.

But they did not.

Ethan felt his plan waver, floundering like a fish out of water for a few moments, before it picked itself up again, dusted itself off, and kept on going. Not having a slingshot was a minor setback. If Quinn didn’t have one, he could just make one. Ethan deposited Quinn in the woodshop, where they sat before seeing a plank of wood and a very thick rubber band.

While they worked, Ethan ran to meet Adar and Cindy in the foyer of the school--the vestibule, or whatever ridiculous word Adar had decided to call it. Cindy tossed a bag of makeup from her house to Ethan, which he caught with only a little trouble due to not having a right eye, and Adar raised both her eyebrows at Ethan--unlike Janiyah, Adar didn’t have the suave talent of being able to lift one eyebrow at a time.

“Am I gonna get a book report?” Adar questioned, causing Ethan to groan a bit. “I had to suffer through Cindy’s loud, girly music. It was the most horrifying eight and a half minutes of my life.”

“Yes, yes, I haven’t forgotten. Just--take Cindy and go meet up with Tahir. I’ll get the book report.”

Ethan took off again, springing out the door to where Janiyah and Krystal waited, already in position on Krystal’s motorcycle. Janiyah and Krystal were the type to argue over their differences, but it was interesting to see their similarities--such as motorcycles, as strange as it was. Ethan deposited the makeup bag in Janiyah’s backpack and rattled off directions to Cass’ house--and how to  **not** piss off their parents for their fucking lives--before Krystal took off rapidly, her whooping and Janiyah shushing her. With Quinn making a slingshot and the makeup bag on its way to its destination, there was only one item left of Ethan’s “Grocery List of Mayhem”: the book report.

Unfortunately, for that, he needed the help of a professional studybug, so he whipped out his phone and scrolled through his contacts until he reached the one he was looking for, and he simply called it.

“ _ What do you want, Ethan? _ ” Akina asked as soon as she picked up, and Ethan could already imagine his best friend’s icy blue eyes. She also had very nice legs, which she chose to use for kicking instead of showing off.

“You knew it was me.” Ethan replied in surprise. “You have my number on your phone?”

“ _ Yes, it’s under “don’t answer”. _ ” Akina snapped, making Ethan think of the harsh expression on her face that she usually had whenever she snapped at someone. He wasn’t sure why, but teasing her filled him with a joy that could not be satisfied by tormenting others.

“And yet, you answered anyway.” He reminded her with no small amount of amusement but quickly turned to serious mode. “Listen, Akina… I called because I really need your help with something. It’s serious.”

“ _ Oh, really? _ ” She questioned, her voice both sweet and sour--a strawberry smoothie blended with doubt and shock.

“It’s Cass. She’s going on a date, but the guy’s going to stand her up. We want to try and help her, and because of that I constructed and elaborate and brilliant plan which somehow ended up requiring a book report. You’re the second smartest girl I know, but I figured that if anyone can write a damn good book report for a high schooler in a short amount of time, it’s you.”

There was a pause as if she wasn’t sure how to react to the ill-formed compliment, but after the short moment of silence, she let out a reluctant groan.

“ _ Alright, I’ll do it! What book is it? _ ” She asked, and Ethan gave himself a shrug.

“I’m not really sure.” He told her truthfully. “Text Adar; it’s for her. I’m sure you’ve read it, though. If not, then you can always text Fate for help because she’s sure a bookworm.”

“ _ Okay. Can I just ask you something? _ ” Akina brought forth, and Ethan didn’t respond because he knew that she would ask anyway. “ _ Why don’t you just stop Cass before she goes? _ ”

“It’s a delicate situation, Akina.” Ethan responded seriously, his voice softening with the gravity of heartbreak. He couldn’t call Cass and tell her that Brett wasn’t going to show up. That was no phone call that a struggling teenage girl needed, but he had sent two of his agents to at least try. “I’ve sent Janiyah and Krystal to try and stop her, but if that doesn’t work, I have a backup plan.”

“ _ Well, good luck. _ ” She astonished him with the hint of a laugh. “ _ I’ll get you your book report. _ ”

Ethan wondered after she hung up if that was the most productive conversation they’d ever had. It certainly lacked the usual amount of insults. Such a reverie he was in that he didn’t hear Quinn’s footsteps behind him until a tiny pebble hit the back of his head, causing him to spun around spastically to see the younger teen smiling evilly as they brandished their scrappy slingshot. Ethan merely grinned after that, however.

“Perfect.” He told them before pausing and considering something. “But we’re going to need a rock much bigger than that, and a younger friend.”

 

* * *

4:59 P.M., March 25th, 20YY

“I’m going to fine you if I get into trouble.” Rory, the aforementioned younger friend, snarled, but Ethan merely clapped him on the back.

“Don’t be worried. It’ll be fine.” Ethan reassured him, but Rory still swallowed thickly as if this was the worst thing he had done. It wasn’t, by the way. “Just wait for the signal, shoot the rock, and then run like Hell is on our heels.”

Rory had been the star pitcher for Skyline’s baseball team, an incredible feat for a monster and for someone his height--which was three feet and six inches because of his damn species. Ethan had located him in the home economics classroom just as Cooking Club was being let out. He peered at Rory’s bowl--which was filled with suspicious mush--and concluded that he was only in the club because of Chandler’s fear of joining a club on his own. Ethan had to let Chandler and Grace, who was also in the Cooking Club and had been partnered with Chandler, in on the plan as well just so he could pull Rory away.

In the end, it was beneficial. The pair had figured out which room detention was held in and strode right in, albeit Ethan, Quinn, and Rory couldn’t see from their position crouched in bushes. If all went according to plan, however, then Grace would be distracting Principal Bennett with questions about certain clubs while--yep, right on cue, Chandler approached the window and gave the trio in the shrubs a brief thumbs-up before skittering away. They waited a few moments before Rory took the slingshot in paw and aimed for the window. With a crack, he released the elastic and the biggest stone they could find shot through the air. It hit the window hard, splintering and shattering the glass in a split second.

Rory and Quinn took off one way, and Ethan took off in the other. He burst into the school, barreling down the hallway until he could see Olivia, Chandler, and Grace hurtling towards him. As soon as he was upon them, Olivia’s face the picture of absolute puzzlement, he spun melodramatically and ran the same course as them, all the way to the lobby which had become their makeshift headquarters. They arrived approximately three seconds before Quinn and Rory sped in through the front door breathing heavily. There, Ethan’s partners-in-crime were gathered; Cindy, Adar, and Tahir.

“This day…” Ethan panted, barely able to catch his breath. “... has involved  **way** too much running.”

He fished his phone out of his pocket once again and dialed Krystal’s number, in which the phone was immediately answered.

“ **_What_ ** _!? _ ” Krystal practically shouted into the phone, and Ethan could’ve sworn that he heard Janiyah chide about Krystal’s choice of volume in the background.

“What happened!?” Ethan demanded, putting a hand on his neck absentmindedly, feeling his rapid pulse.

“ _ We got to Cass’ house like you asked, and she let us in when Janiyah offered to test out some makeup looks on her. _ ” Krystal answered, sounding absolutely exhausted. “ _ While she was doing whatever you do with makeup, I managed to get Cass to tell us where she was going. _ ”

“Did you convince her not to?” Ethan asked with only a scintilla of hope at that point.

“ _ No. _ ” Janiyah remarked with a gloomy tone. “ _ She was dead-set. I think… I think she wanted to use this date as a chance to get over Olivia. _ ” Ethan’s heart fell to his shoes as he glanced back at Olivia, who was still clueless as to why she had been broken out of detention like a criminal from prison. “ _ We couldn’t tell her that Brett wasn’t coming, Ethan. We just couldn’t. _ ”

“Where are you guys right now?” Ethan questioned, hearing his voice go flat with dejection.

“ _ She left, so we did, too. _ ” Krystal replied. “ _ We got little ways down the street before you called. She’s going to that little cafe--Big Mugs cafe--you know the place? _ ”

“Yeah, I do.” Ethan replied with a reflexive nod, even though they couldn’t see. “Thank you, both of you. You can go home now if you want. Sorry to make you, er… spend time together.”

“ _ You kiddin’? _ ” Krystal asked with a chuckle, and Ethan could imagine her toothy grin, fangs bared and all. “ _ It’s no trouble; Janiyah is my favorite enemy! _ ”

“ _ And Krystal is my most loathsome friend. _ ” Janiyah added, and Ethan couldn’t help but smile.

“Right.” He wondered when those two would stop being so dense and just get together. “Even if everything didn’t succeed exactly, thanks for the help.” He ended the call.

“I take it that Plan A didn’t work?” Ethan jumped more than he’d like to admit when he heard a voice right behind him. It was Akina, waving about a neat clump of papers; stapled and hole-punched and everything. She handed it to Adar. “I  **had** read the book and written the same report last year. I’m in the advanced literature class, so I simply tweaked everything and there you have it.”

Having gone on a rollercoaster of running and crazy antics and spontaneous feelings of loyalty for his wacky friend, Ethan didn’t know how to respond besides taking Akina’s face in his hands and planted a great, smacking kiss on her forehead.

“You’re the  **greatest** , Akina.” With no further explanation and not daring to wait for her reaction, he circled the foyer--er, vestibule--calling out to his forces. “Quinn and younger friends, you’re off the hook! Everyone else, come with me because we’ve got a date to  **crash** !”

 

* * *

5:30 P.M., March 25th, 20YY

Everyone in the Big Mugs Cafe politely pretended not to be sneaking glances at the petite monster girl by the window. She sat alone, framed by golden sunlight that danced off of the tears in her eyes. She was in a booth seat with no one beside her and no one in the plain chairs across from her. One of the waitresses had taken pity on her and given her a cup of tea, but as time ticked on, the door simply marked every new customer that wasn’t who she was waiting for with a chiming  _ ding _ !

The poor young girl waited in sempiternal solitude, trying to ignore the susurrous voices of the customers around her and trying to ignore the disapproving voices of her friend in her head--the voices of inner demons declaring that she wasn’t good enough for Brett, for Olivi, for anyone. She tried to ignore the embarrassed heat flushing, the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks, and the prickling in her nose.

_ Ding! _

“ **Hey, Cass** !” Shouted a strident voice, causing her head to snap up. “We’re here!”

She saw them all are once--Adar, Ethan, and Tahir coming her way with Olivia right behind them--and they started towards her, a flurry of breathless young teens.

“Are you with her?” A suspicious waitress asked--the one who had asked Cass previously if she would be dining on her own, not the nice one who had given her tea.

“Yes, we’re her dates.” Ethan, the source of initial shouting, replied immediately. The waitress raised an eyebrow.

“All three of you?” She questioned, obviously trying to dig her way into their private affairs.

“Yes.” Adar deadpanned with a blank expression, hoping that would get her to leave them alone. She opened her mouth again, but Ethan jumped in.

“We’re polygamists.” He explained stupidly, and the waitress immediately turned away, causing him to snicker a bit.

Adar slid into the booth on one side of Cass, Olivia on the other, Tahir plopped into one of the separated chairs across from her, and Ethan plopped into the seat beside him. Cass felt herself shaking like a leaf in a wild tornado, half out of despair and half out of pure love for her friends. It didn’t take more than a few seconds for Olivia to pull her into her arms, and Cass leaned into her, finally letting out her tears. She gripped onto her shirt and cried into her chest while she muttered.

“I have no damn idea what’s going on, but I’m here now, so you better not take that for granted.” Olivia told the younger girl, who laughed through her sobs and only got a tighter hug from the older girl.

“I-I just… I keep wondering what I did wrong…” Cass failed to keep her voice from trembling. “I-I don’t know why he didn’t come…”

“Because he’s an asshole!” Cindy suddenly yelled. Cass hadn’t heard her and Akina come in, but they stood before the table. “Brett didn’t come because he simply didn’t want to. He was dared to ask you on a date and to go on the date, but he was a pussy and bitched out. You  **don’t** need a guy like that, Cassandra Claire Allyn, and I will fully prove that to you if you need me to!”

There was a pause, vast and tense before the icy, quiet pain was broken by Cass’ summer-like smile.

“You don’t have to prove it. I had a feeling and I should’ve listened to it, but I was so caught up in my feelings and everything just broke…” Cass bubbled weakly, and Cindy squeezed into the booth next to Adar, giving off her most winning and charming smile.

Ethan was approached by Akina before too long.

“You kissed me on the forehead.” She deadpanned, and he nodded in agreement only for her eyebrows to knit together distrustfully. “But you don’t like me. You like to mess with me. Boys like you like pretty girls who talk about nail polish and fashion and celebrities and--I don’t know, whatever they do.” Her tone could be described only as matter-of-fact. “And girls like me are far too smart for you.”

“Not everything goes along with what the books say.” Ethan pointed out.

Taking a leap of faith, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against Akina’s cheek. When he pulled back, he waited for her reaction that time; her face was tinted a rosy pink, her eyes wide and brimming with some wonderful emotion that matched the wild lightness of his heart. Behind them, Cindy wolf-whistled and Cass clapped.

“Any given psycho could figure that out.” He finished, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet up on the table despite this being a cafe, and he gave a confident smile…

Before Akina smacked him over the head, as she usually did when he was being an idiot.

“Any given psycho should know not to put his feet on the table!”

Well, at least she didn’t reject him. There was that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: I like to think that Ethan's theme song is "Believe" by "Hollywood Undead". It wraps him up pretty nicely.


	17. Vale, amica mea.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's back to Craig's job because that's always fun, and not just for filling in spaces.  
> Also, Destiny and Fate both admit something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm squinting. I'm tired. I'm hungry.
> 
> I'm in love with these characters.  
> I'm ready to fuck y'all up with some plot again soon.

11:39 A.M., April 16th, 20YY

Craig was nearly to the point of having enough of his job. He felt like a chameleon, blending in with those around him no matter if they were honest, courageous, corrupt, devious, malicious, altruistic, cunning or stupid. That was just a short list, too, one that helped sort out the oversimplification of good and bad. With his job, he had seen it over and over again--a corpse was a corpse unless someone who loved them entered the room.

Today, this corpse was almost devoid of skin because of how the truck it was inside decided to burst into flames. It had taken a bit of time, but the flames had finally gone out and he alongside some others were able to do their best to pull the corpse out. It was more bones than anything, but he was good with those, so it didn’t bother him. Leaving a team to the removing and packing of the remains, he followed behind a very annoyed Taryn to talk with the Arson Investigator.

“Call came in at six A.M. Passing motorist called 911, said they saw a ball of fire on the side of the road.” He explained, causing Craig to sign as he took off his rubber gloves and put on new ones.

“Where’s the point of ignition?” He questioned simply, but the investigator shrugged. Craig simply shook his head, rolled his eyes, and then pointed at the whole mess. “As an Arson Investigator, you should know that  **every** fire has a point of ignition.”

Taryn put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from going off on a rant about how the criminal justice system was broken and shitty and simply pointed out the VIN plate.

“Check out the VIN plate instead of terrorizing the poor Arson Investigator, Craig. Digits are missing.” She told him, and he took a deep breath, focusing on the case.

“I’ll give it to Cathy, see what she can do.” He told the older girl before turning around to the Arson Investigator once again, pointing about at some suspicious powder about the truck. “This white powder… I assume it’s residue from fire retardant used to control the blaze?”

“It’s not retardant.” The Arson Investigator countered, gaining a confused look from Craig. “The firefighters who arrived on the scene were under-equipped for some reason, but also able to burn the blaze out with high-pressure water.” Craig rolled his eyes once again.

“Then I’ll need to bag the powder for Abner to analyze.” He sighed before suddenly, the firefighters managed to remove the roof of the truck to get the bones of the victim unstuck and much easier to remove.

To their surprise, however, the bones appeared… melted, in some way.

“Wow, this is a first. Melted bones.” Taryn sighed with a light laugh, but Craig crossed his arms over his chest with a shake of his head.

“No… that’s can’t be possible. Bones don’t melt.” He insisted but Taryn put a hand on his shoulder.

“Usually I defer all things bones to you, but… I’ve cooked with a lot of cheese--that is  **melting** .” She explained to him, causing his face to scrunch up in confusion and wonder.

This would be quite the case…

 

* * *

12:04 P.M., April 16th, 20YY

Tragedy is something that affects millions of people around the world every day, and as common as it occurs, one never thinks it’s going to happen to them until it does--on a scale from heartbreak to death. This tragedy was one that made Fate unable to understand why she felt so damn wrong. It made her feel like she was overreacting because, with every point of view she tried to look at it with, it shouldn’t have made her feel so… shitty.

Late last night, Destiny had called in tears. He wasn’t hysterical, but he certainly sounded off. For several minutes, he refused to speak of the reason he called so late in the first place, but Fate had gotten a feeling the second she heard his voice. She had felt it deep in her bones, but still felt her blood freeze cold at the news.

Destiny would be leaving on a midnight flight today to God-knows-where, simply because his Father had a job to do and the final word in the house. His Father wanted him to come with, so to not angry his Father and possibly very well get kicked out of the house for a freezing night or longer, Destiny had agreed. Once they left at midnight, she would not be able to see him again for exactly three months until he returned very early in the morning on the fifteenth of July--which also happened to be his birthday, and he promised to spend the whole day with her, but it still didn’t feel right.

It had put her forever rattling brain on a sudden halt. She felt lost in the cosmos of a galaxy she didn’t belong in. She didn’t know what to do and it wasn’t something she could fix because it wasn’t broken. It was something she was supposed to deal with, that she was to learn to accept. It was only three months and his Father would go through some loopholes to have him graduate, but he wouldn’t be there for graduation or for half of summer vacation. It just felt… so weird to think about.

Letting out a shaky breath, Fate pulled herself from her thoughts and looked around the messy, darkened bedroom belonging to her and her two siblings--who were undoubtedly downstairs, having lunch or something of the sort. She hadn’t told anyone about it yet, considering that she got the call so late last night, but with how she had technically “slept in” until now, they were bound to come knocking at the door.

“Fate?”

Or simply talk from the other side of the door, that worked, too. Fate recognized Chara’s voice through the closed door instantly, and only then did she realize how swollen and itchy her face felt, quickly wiping at her eyes. I didn’t like crying. She didn’t like others seeing her cry. Before she could tell her older sibling to go away, they were already opening the door and peeking in through the crack.

“... What do you want?” Fate questioned softly, and Chara took a cautious step into the room.

“Are you okay?” They asked, and before she could stop herself, she was rolling her eyes. “Sorry, that was a stupid question.”

Fate merely shrugged, not responding as Chara made their way further into the room and closed the door behind them. They moved over to the desk chair and wheeled it over so that they were sitting in front of her, and Fate could feel the watching her face as she stared down at her lap.

“What’s going on?” Chara questioned after a moment’s silence. Fate only shook her head, and the silence returned for a moment before Chara reached over and grabbed her hand. They squeezed it tightly and she held her breath, looking up to meet their eyes. “You can talk to me, you know? It’s past noon; Toriel is getting worried.”

There was another pause, and then Fate spoke up.

“Destiny has to leave for three months.” She admitted softly, pulling her hand free of Chara’s and rising up from where she sat at the edge of her bed. “He’s leaving at midnight… he won’t be here for graduation and I won’t get to see him again until the fifteenth of July, early in the morning.”

Chara scooted back, allowing Fate to move, and she barely spared her older sibling a glance before she left the room.

 

* * *

12:29 P.M., April 16th, 20YY

“That white powder is magnesium oxide, isn’t it?”

Abner rung his card through the security pad, his face scrunching up in confusion at how the younger redhead behind him knew that. In his opinion, he preferred Sage when she had her natural blonde hair instead of her dyed, fiery red hair, but in her opinion, red suited her personality more. Nonetheless, there was a question bubbling in Abner’s mind as he walked, Sage following close behind him.

“Yah… how did you know?” He asked, and for once, Sage actually got excited while talking science and examining the bones of a dead body.

“As we’ve all seen, the victim’s bones appear to have melted, which is not possible. Bone don’t melt.” Sage started to explain, now leading Abner instead of following him. “But magnesium burns hot and fast! If the bones were exposed to magnesium fire, which burned between fifteen and forty-five minutes at a temperature of five hundred degrees Celsius--”

“The biogenic composition structure of the bone mineral would have crystallized and the bones would appear as if they had melted.” Abner finished, snapping his fingers to keep his thought process going. Sage gave a bright smile and nodded frantically, her red ponytail bobbing along with her. “But… for magnesium to ignite, it needs to be wet first. So, last night, when the mass spec identified magnesium, I checked the meteorological charts.”

Sage seemed very interested, heading over to Abner’s side to look at his phone screen, which showed everything that they needed to know--that a light rain had fallen last night in the vicinity where the body was found.

 

* * *

1:09 P.M., April 16th, 20YY

“So, after I scanned in all the bones, I remembered Girolamo Cardano. He’s a 16th-century Italian mathematician and anatomist. He developed a series of mathematical equations to describe the skeletal system.”

Cathy tried to explain, but Craig merely gave her an odd look because he still didn’t understand quite who was talking about, so she continued on a little less confident in her work.

“I programmed the equations into the computer and I was able to reconstruct the skeletal system, the same way a forensic architect could reconstruct a collapsed building.” Cathy explained, and because Craig finally understood how genius this idea was, he stared at her in shock. She had straightened out their “melted” bones, which would give them all a better idea for the cause of death and other necessary things. Cathy merely chuckled at Craig’s dropped jaw. “Don’t look so surprised, honey.”

At the click of a button, the twisted bones on the TV screen slowly straightened themselves out, giving a clear bone structure instead of what was, simply a moment ago, a disaster. Craig couldn’t help but let an “amazing” slip through his lips, bringing a smile to Cathy’s face before she focused on the task at hand.

“There are marks on the victim’s ilium, but I don’t believe an injury at that location would be fatal.” Cathy explained before zooming in on the mandible. “A nicked mandible could be, though, especially if the carotid was transected. The victim would’ve bled out and we’d have a cause of death.” There was a pause before she groaned, hearing Craig snicker from beside her. “God, you’ve all damaged me with nerd talk.”

“Well, if it makes you feel better, you’ve just pushed us forward a shit ton in this case.” Craig comforted, bringing another smile to Cathy’s face as if it were a compliment With Craig’s ways, it kind of was. “It’s just… strange for this stuff to happen in Ebott, even if merely four months ago the town was infested with deadly demon dogs.” Cathy gave a nod in agreement.

“I know…” She agreed, sighing a bit as she tapped away at her tablet that controlled the TV screen. “Two months ago, Adam proposed to me, and now here we are, back to the murderous ways of Ebott citizens.” Craig gave a sigh before patting Cathy on the back and then walking up to the TV screen to point and continue the investigation.

“Based on the wound track, which narrows to a point, I’d say we’re looking at a knife.” He informed her, and she pursed her lips with a small nod. “He was most likely stabbed. Sage will need to find the actual warped bone, so she can swab the wound for trace from the murder weapon.”

Cathy gave a nod, tapped away at her tablet, and then immediately took off to go and find Sage.

 

* * *

1:30 P.M., April 16th, 20YY

Frisk walked through the living room, ignoring their parents as they made their way down the basement steps, not surprised to hear the soft scratch of static. Reaching the bottom floor, they saw that Fate was sitting on the couch playing with a radio. They didn’t say anything as they crossed over to Fate and sat down beside her, leaning over her shoulder to look at the sketchbook in her lap. As if noticing this, she closed it over immediately, putting it and the radio on the table before turning to Frisk, who smiled as they blew their bangs out of their range of sight.

“I didn’t know you could draw so well.” Frisk commented soft, and instead of getting mad like they thought she might, Fate took a deep breath and cracked a smile. It was more likely that she was smiling because they were talking to her, with their voice of all things.

“Pencil against paper is much easier than pebble against concrete.” She told them, causing them to purse their lips as they just looked at her. Twelve-year-old her. They could only imagine what she looked like during her tenth and eleventh years.

“You’ve grown so much.” They whispered.

At that, Fate’s smile fell and her thoughts began to wander. So much had happened in her life that she didn’t even know where to begin. Where had she gone right in life, and where had she gone wrong? She wasn’t innocent despite still being considered a child. In fact, she was the furthest thing from it. She’s lost numerous people in her life; people that she couldn’t imagine living without. Yet here she was, still finding the will to take in the air while her friend rotted in patches under the ground… if they were even lucky enough to achieve a memorial.

She drummed her fingers on her thighs.

“You have, too.” She replied honestly. “We’re definitely not the same people we were three years ago.” She was silent for a moment before continuing. “Y’know… I think everyone in Ebott is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. We all do what we have to in order to survive, but some people just take it too far.”

“Why?” Frisk questioned, a chill running down their spine as they kept their gaze focused on their thin fingers. “What’s so important about playing the role of “Suzy Homemaker”?”

“I don’t know who that is.” Fate admitted before responding based on the part of the question she did understand. “People believe their first impressions of others are typically always right. It’s a scientific fact, so we want them to feel comfortable.” Frisk frowned.

“How comfortable…?” They asked, unsure of where the conversation was going, and they watched as a small smirk grew on Fate’s face. At least she was honest. They could appreciate that.

“Comfortable enough that if we come running at them with a knife, they won’t even realize that it’s us.” She murmured, and Frisk was stunned into silence at her response that they didn’t even know what to say. There was nothing they could say to that.

Nonetheless, Fate dropped the entire subject in favor of passing Frisk her sketchbook, forcing a smile. Frisk paused for a moment, and then started to flip through it, mildly interested and still mostly in shock.

“Destiny is leaving on a three-month trip. He won’t be at graduation and I won’t be able to see him again until he returns early in the morning on his birthday.” She explained, kind of giving a reason for why she was in such an awful mood, and Frisk let out a sigh, finally getting it. It took a bunch of anxiety off of their back, at least. “... He’s leaving at midnight from the city over’s airport, so I don’t even get to say goodbye. It’s peachy keen, just like life.”

With that, Fate was heading back upstairs to do whatever it was she was going for, and Frisk couldn’t help but think. The city over was only a two-hour bike ride…

And it was one hour if you were  **determined** enough to pedal quickly.

 

* * *

2:45 P.M., April 16th, 20YY

“I got the swab results back.” Abner told Craig, pulling him into the test office and bringing him over to a computer. Craig yanked his arm away, content with simply following the younger male instead of being dragged around like a broken wagon. “S.E.M. analysis… says the murder weapon was a knife made of carbon steel, which means it was forged prior to 1964 and the knife you found in that kid’s locker--the seventeen-year-old who was sleeping with his teacher who just so happened to be the victim’s wife--was not the murder weapon.”

Abner turned around on his heel to face a conflicted Craig, who crossed his arms tightly across his chest and sighed. There was a pause, and then Craig spoke up.

“I run a Kindergarten.” He stated simply, and Abner couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

Many of them in the lab were intelligent but immature, and with Craig and Liz in charge, they both had a say over everyone else. It was a little ironic, considering that Liz had a bad temper and Craig, while also having a bad temper, had very unprofessionally dyed hair. The turquoise--or perhaps aqua--color was nice, but he was lucky to have such a high status.

Not that Abner was complaining or anything.

“The knife that stabbed our victim was also laminated in silver.” Abner added, gaining a nod of the head from Craig before the man realized just how odd that was. Why would anyone laminate a blade with silver? It was a soft metal. “I know what you’re thinking, and so I will answer. No one uses silver to laminate a blade…” A smirk broke out across Abner’s face, a rare occurrence. “--unless it’s the Damascus blade.”

“You said that with a great dramatic flourish.” Craig seemed to compliment, also seeming to be impressed by the dramatic delivery. “Please, continue.”

Abner lead Craig through the test room as he spoke.

“Hitler had thirty Damascus blades hand forged as presents for his top commanders.” Abner explained, pulling up pictures on another computer to show what the blades looked like. Craig had to blow some of his hair out of the way when he leaned down to look. “Now, those knives were coveted by American G.I.’s. Some of them were taken as souvenirs by soldiers in Patton’s Third Army.”

The realization clicked in Craig’s mind as he and Abner stood up, standing face-to-face.

“The owner of the shop that the victim worked in had a grandparent who served in Patton’s Third Army!” He remembered, having been contacted by Taryn earlier that day, and Abner gave a proud smile. He had learned to be much prouder of his accomplishments while working with Jeremiah at times since Jeremiah acted as a psychologist who studied relationships of different kinds. “The murder weapon must’ve belonged to John Ward.”

“... But John Ward was telling the truth when he said he didn’t kill the victim. Jeremiah is good with those things--you know that.” Craig argued, and Abner’s smile fell a bit as he gave a nod. “So, what… it was stolen?”

Abner gave a shrug.

“The high-schooler--” Abner suddenly froze, pushing at Craig’s curiosity. Abner fiddled about before suddenly tapping away at the keyboard, bringing up things to prove his point. “The high-schooler worked the same shop as the victim and  **he** may not have done it, but he had a girlfriend while he was sleeping with the teacher! Somewhere through thoughts of love, money, and revenge--she could’ve stolen from John Ward and done something.”

Craig snapped his fingers in thought, taking off after patting Abner on the head, which the younger male felt was very weird.

But it was a sign that he had an idea and appreciated Abner’s help.

 

* * *

 

 

11:45 P.M., April 16th, 20YY

_ Just keep running. _

That’s what Fate continued to tell herself whenever her body felt like it was on the verge of collapsing. She hadn’t run this much in a long time, and when she did, it was only in short bursts. This seemed everlasting and her legs felt like jelly at this point, her entire shirt wet with sweat and sticking to her. She knew the stakes of following through with Frisk’s plan, but only Chara’s bike was ready to ride and yet, they all still went. Of course, with thirty minutes of a bike ride left, the chain had messed up and Chara couldn’t fix it fast enough.

So here Fate was, running steadily along the crowded sidewalks like some sort of maniac--and she might as well have been. She was left with more questions than answers but refused to slow down with the big building in sight just ahead. She wasn’t sure how long she had been running, but at this point, she was panting and out of breath, forcing ourselves to take another step no matter how much it hurt. Her chest felt like a balloon being blown too big and it was only a matter of time it popped.

But she had finally reached the building. Now, all that mattered was the reason she had run all this way.

The airport was like a sea of faces moving in an unseen current, flowing like water to their destinations and like a wide river down the aisles. Small groups would sometimes stop and cause a small eddy, but the others would flow around the outside and continue on their way. There were plasma screens of arrival and departure times on the wall, people lined up at the check-in desk with suitcases and luggage, and a sculpture of a whale with water cascading from its mouth and flowing down its tail flukes. In the background, soft classical music played, and in the arrivals lounge, there was a curious mixture of bored and excited people. Some looked like they were waiting for a bus, other like they were children waiting for Santa himself, some lounged on the comfy chairs, and other bounced on their toes.

After looking around for what felt like forever, not really caring about anything or anyone that she had seen, she finally saw him. He was who she had come for and she would get to him, even if he was on the other side of some dumb gate. Even if she had to run past--oh, hey, there she went and here came the yelling security guards, gathering everyone’s attention. It must’ve been so odd, seeing some small little monster, drenched in sweat, dashing away from two big, burly security men.

And yet, despite the trouble she had pulled along, Destiny didn’t hesitate to open his arms to her. To say that she flew into them was an understatement. She nearly tackled him to merely say goodbye and to Hell and back with what his Father thought about her, and about how the security was so confused that this was all she had broken past them for. In his embrace, the world had stopped still on its axis. There was no time, no wind, and no rain. Her mind was at peace. How could it be that she hadn’t seen it for what it was before? Pure. Unselfish. Undemanding…

**Free.**

She felt her body press in, soft and warm because this was the love she had waited for. That only made her hug all the tighter because a love like this was to be cherished for life, even if it didn’t last that long. She had been hugged before, but never like this. There was something that felt right about this one. He gave her the respect of an equal but cradled her like a cherished child. In that embrace, her optimism raised its head from the dirt, although perhaps the hope had been there all along--like crystals in a stone. She felt him brush his fingers through her fur, pulling back slightly only to ask what the Hell she had been thinking and why she didn’t just come visit. Why had she come to see him now at all times, getting herself into trouble?

She really wasn’t sure if she could respond.

“... Thank you.” Was all she could say, her voice barely more than a whisper as their foreheads leaned together. God, she was still sweating, he probably thought she was disgusting…

“For what?” He asked, his voice low considering all the voices around them. They were either yelling or whispering, all of them different, but his voice was the only one she registered.

“For being you. For accepting me. I-I don’t really know.” She laughed lightly, her voice wavering from the tension between them, and Destiny merely smiled softly in return.

“... I’ll see you in three months, you know. You didn’t have to--what did you do,  **run** here? You’re sweating!” He pointed out with a chuckle, and Fate wanted to nod, but her head felt so fuzzy from all of the running.

“Chara biked for a good while, then the bike broke or something, and then I ran because I just…” She paused, digging her eight fingers and two stumps into his shirt. She wouldn’t smell his exact scent of warm milk and honey until three months passed by, and God… it felt like such a tragedy. They were a tragedy, but a beautiful one. “I couldn’t just wait three months without seeing you before you went.”

Destiny laughed, and Fate felt like some sort of fool. She supposed it was the good kind and decided to think that Elvis Presley would agree.

“You’ll miss me that much?” Destiny asked, his tone dropping as if he thought it had been a joke, and Fate finally got around to nodding. He paused, and then his face scrunched up in a way she knew too well--the way of “I’m an idiot”--before he gently kissed her forehead. After planting the kiss, he rested his forehead back on hers, looking so apologetic that she felt the need to be so as well. “... If we’re going to be honest, I’ll miss you that much, too.”

A smile broke out across Fate’s face before the airport speakers came to life.

**_ATTENTION PASSENGERS. FLIGHT 290 TO LONDON IS NOW BOARDING._ **

Neither of them moved, even when Destiny’s Father started to gather his things, and Destiny merely dug his fingers into Fate’s sweatshirt.

“... I have to go…” He mumbled to remind her, and her grip tightened one last time before she nodded, letting go.

Destiny took a couple of steps back, and then started making his way to his Father…

“... Wait!” Fate called out, a sudden urge filling her chest, and the boy stopped in his tracks, turning to look at her as she broke into a run straight towards him.

His eyes widened at her approach before she suddenly threw her arms around his neck, and with a surprisingly clear mind, she had done.

_ She had kissed him. _

This was not what she thought would happen when she saw him off, but she was certainly not going to reject her own feelings. His lips were warm and tasted of mint--he had obviously been chewing gum earlier--and his arms wrapped around her waist, both to catch her and to hold her. When they pulled back, they stared at each other for a moment as if they were both crazy before breaking into laughter, sharing one last hug. They shared a whisper, holding on tightly, and then they had to let go.

Destiny rushed to gather his things while his Father scolded him, and Fate was kindly lead away by the head of security with a fair warning, much to her luck.

Three months would be nothing, just like three years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: When this story gets around to July again, fUN STUFF I GONNA START HAPPENING.
> 
> [Edit: 2018-01-06]  
> So, by the way, I forgot to add this. Here we are now.  
> I was thinking about making a separate story about Fate's time in the Abaddon. It would be all about the Abaddon from the time she was pretty much kidnapped to the time she escaped, and it would be a prequel to Unpainted Fate. It may answer all your questions about the Abaddon a such despite it being sort of a side project, but it would obviously be very morbid and not the best story. But it would explain things, and it would give an idea to the Abaddon's ways along with Fate's past more than what I've already tried to explain.  
> Lemme know if you're interested in that!


	18. Throwing Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An investigation of an unidentified skull and upper torso leads Craig back to high school, and a surprise awaits at the end...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tHIS IS THE END OF AN ARC
> 
> ENJOY YOURSELVES FOR THE NEXT ARC WILL BE... something.

8:31 A.M., April 25th, 20YY

“I can’t believe you grew up in this area.”

It had been ten years and yet, Craig couldn’t believe it, either. His high school days were filled with enough emotion to power a small Midwestern town and ten years later, the damn emotions still lingered. They lingered very strongly as well, and Craig could only sigh as he followed behind Taryn.

“Yes, I am an alumna of Arrowebott High.” Craig confirmed, shaking his head a bit. “Of course, that was after I murdered a man and was basically shipped from Ireland to the US. It was also a time where I had a parole officer for a good amount of time and it sucked, so let’s not talk about it.”

Taryn dropped the subject, holding up the caution tape for Craig before swooping in behind him, showing her badge to the Sheriff in front of them.

“I’m Sheriff Pauline Ellis.” The Sheriff introduced, holding out her hand for a shake, and Craig immediately stepped back despite Taryn trying to hold him in place. Pauline tilted her head, giving Taryn a look, and she seemed to apologize with a passive-aggressive smile before pulling harshly on Craig’s ear. He let out a yelp, smacking her hand gently to try and get her to let go.

“What is wrong with you!? Introduce yourself, dumbass!” Taryn hissed angrily in his ear before letting go, and Craig took a couple of deep breaths before doing as he was told.

“Hi, we know each other. Paul-Paul, right? It’s Craig Khourey. We were lab partners in chemistry at Arrowebott High.” He spat out in a squeak, awkwardly rocking back on his heels as he shoved his hands into his pockets and bit down on his lip hard enough to break the skin. Not to bleed, but to break the skin. It didn’t help his image that he looked like he was ready to faint, and Pauline merely stood there in shock for a second before replying.

“... Are you sure?” She questioned simply, and Craig didn’t wait to answer her question.

“Positive.” He confirmed, pulling his hands out of his pockets in favor of pulling at his sleeves. He even started to twist them about like a child while he spoke, only digging a hole for himself deeper and deeper… “Though, you are thinner now, which is better for your cardiovascular system. In high school, you were quite overweight, hence the derision from the other students.”

Pauline stared for a moment while Taryn took that all in, hating the fact that Craig had to be so straightforward and yet so awkward, and then the old “friend” of Craig’s spoke again with a passive-aggressive one much more believable than Taryn’s.

“I remember you now… the creepy boy.” Pauline sighed, and that shot caused Craig to lower his head, obviously feeling attacked. “So, you’re in town for the reunion?” Craig’s head shot back up, his expression glazing over with pure panic, and Taryn decided to move things along so her partner didn’t actually faint.

“We’re simply here to inspect the remains.” Taryn insisted, shutting Pauline down with a sigh, and the Sheriff nodded her head and lead them along to the bones of the victim.

It wasn’t very surprising to Craig that there was a blanket on the ground where the skull was and a caged raccoon on one of the stacks of hay, but Taryn went straight up to the cage, staring at the animal in confusion. Nonetheless, Craig slipped on a pair of gloves while listening to Pauline speak, albeit he didn’t make eye contact.

“Two girls were out here rolling around, and that critter--” She pointed to the caged animal, bringing Taryn’s attention back to the case. “--ran into them with the skull on its head.” Taryn’s face scrunched up in confusion once more and Craig was happy to elaborate on why.

“Well, it was probably eating the brains and eyes.” He told her, causing the confusion to go to disgust. It didn’t matter to him as he knelt down, picking up the skull and examining it. “Female, age indeterminate. Judging by the lack of staining, the victim’s head was severed postmortem.” Taryn and Pauline both groaned in disgust, shaking their heads, and Craig placed the skull back down, getting to his feet. “Well, I’m glad you kept this quiet, Pauline.” For once while talking to the woman, Craig sounded sincere and confident. “There are probably more remains in the area.”

Pauline took off immediately, calling to her team about searching the area for more “people parts”. Craig muttered something under his breath about not wanting the remains compromised when he took off to go and search as well, so Taryn called to Pauline about not compromising the remains as she followed behind Craig. All he had to say when she gave him an odd look was that Pauline happened to be a very careless lab partner, and then Taryn decided to bring up the reunion.

“You should go to the reunion, Craig. We already drove all the way here.” Taryn insisted, but Craig immediately shook his head.

“I’m not going.” He decided right away, and Taryn rolled her eyes as she waited for an explanation. “High school was not a happy time. I barely talked to anyone back then, which became odd when the whole group we have now was squished together because Brian, Dacian, Ryeluen, and Liz all went to Arrowebott as well. I wonder if they’re aware of the reunion…” Craig shook his head, pulling back to the point of the conversation. “For some reason that I’m quite aware of, people didn’t seem to like me.”

Before Taryn could speak again, Craig was calling out that he found something, snapping on another pair of gloves and kneeling down to examine what looked like an upper torso. Pauline came running and upon seeing the remains, she let out a gasp. Taryn leaned over a bit and her face scrunched up before she spoke.

“Where are the ribs, Craig?” She questioned as Craig pulled out his phone, taking pictures of the remains to send back to the lab right away.

“According to legend, they’ve been cooked and eaten.” He responded seriously, although for a moment Taryn thought he was joking. He only continued as he took the necessary pictures. “They say that a spirit lives in these woods. He takes over a person, makes them kill.” Taryn could almost hear Craig’s eyes rolling as he put his phone back and started to examine the remains. “My senior year, a classmate was murdered and dismembered just like this, and they never found the killer.”

Pauline ran a hand over her face, letting out a heavy sigh.

“The Butcher of Arrowebott Secondary… that’s just great.”

 

* * *

12:04 P.M., April 25th, 20YY

“So, the first victim, Gabrielle Reid, was a member of the class of ‘Z0? And the second victim was killed just before the reunion of the  **same class** ?” Jeremiah questioned Craig and Taryn over the useful, almighty Skype.

They were stuck in Arrowebott until the case was complete, so they got a hotel room and set up Taryn’s laptop to keep in touch with everyone. Since Brian and Dacian were going to the reunion, they jumped into a car and were driving over sooner than later. Liz would continue her work in the lab considering that she didn’t want to go and Ryeluen had to look after his shop along with Miharu, so he would be in Ebott unless directed otherwise.

Craig gave Jeremiah a stern nod in response.

“And this, uh… Henry Parker was a prime suspect in ‘Z0?” Jeremiah asked, flipping through the papers he had on the case, and Taryn gave a hum in response that time.

“He was the high school custodian, but they didn’t have enough to hold him.” She explained to her younger brother, and Craig grabbed a pair of clothes before waving to Jeremiah, disappearing into the bathroom. “Craig is trying to convince me not to look into Mr. Parker because when he was attending Arrowebott Secondary, and I quote, “Henry was my only friend”.”

There was a pause, and then Jeremiah let out a small “huh” before continuing on as if that conversation had never happened.

“Since you’re trying to keep the town from another wave of collective hysteria, I wouldn’t suggest announcing your F.B.I. status… any of you.” Jeremiah insisted, and Taryn lifted her arms out, showing off her totally normal attire. “With Craig, Brian, and Dacian as alumnae of Arrowebott Secondary, you can get more information if you remain seen that way. Don’t blow anything.”

“Yeah, great.” Taryn muttered, rolling her eyes and lifting a hand out to close the laptop. “I’ll talk to you later, Jer.”

Jeremiah couldn’t get another word in before Taryn cut the line off, causing him to sit there in silence before letting out a sigh, throwing the papers aside. His older sister was so reckless...

 

* * *

1:45 P.M., April 25th, 20YY

“How well did you know Henry Parker, by the way?”

Craig seemed to brighten up immediately for the first time since he and Taryn stepped onto school grounds, causing his partner-in-crime to really wonder about his mental state. It wasn’t the first time she wondered, and she had some odd feeling that it wouldn’t be the last.

“Very well!” Craig responded, actually smiling sincerely in front of her for once. “He used to find dead animals for me to dissect.” Taryn’s head snapped towards Craig only to find that he was being serious. “We used to have long discussions about death. Mr. Parker would say it was a natural process. He actually allowed me to keep some pets here: a mouse, a snake, and some spiders.”

“And you weren’t popular? That’s amazing.” Taryn sighed sarcastically as they turned the corner, only for the two of them to bump into another two. The random two dropped boxes of decorations and other things while Craig and Taryn stood there, each of them in shock for different reasons.

“Oh, I am so sorry! My nerves are totally fried.” A blonde woman apologized, quickly gathering up her box of things, and the man with her gathered up his things slowly. “I haven’t slept in days because of this damn reunion…” Craig tilted his head a bit, his smile falling as he pulled at his sleeves again.

“Keira Moss?” He questioned, and the blonde looked up with an odd look beyond her forced smile. “It’s Craig… Khourey…”

“Craig.” Keira repeated, her tone changing as she remembered exactly who he was. She let out a nervous laugh. “You… liked dead things.”

“I thought it was you.” The man insisted as he stood up with his box of things, and Craig recognized him without much thought. “The years have been very kind to you, Craig.”

“Not that “very”.” Keira chuckled, leaning towards the man with the same smile. It was starting to get on Taryn’s nerves. “He liked dead things, Jude.” Craig jumped in, although it wasn’t quite obvious whether he was trying to stand up for himself of just trying to take Taryn’s advice for once.

“Yes, but now I’m a wealthy and successful scientist.” He bragged with a forced smile before it dropped and he turned to Taryn expectantly. “Did I do that right?” She paused, blinking once or twice, and then let out a scoff, shaking her head. What did she expect?

“I’m, uh…” Taryn started, stepping forward and holding out her hand for Keira and Jude. She hated going undercover, but at the same time, it reminded her of when she snuck into the Kindergarten class and pretended to be five years old all over again just to be with Jeremiah. It hadn’t lasted long. “I’m his wife, Millie Price, Craig’s…” She awkwardly brought her hand back, linking her fingers with Craig’s as they both cringed, hoping that the other didn’t sweat. “... lesser half.”

“Jude Bell.” Jude introduced himself before motioning to Keira. “Keria Moss.” Taryn forced a light laugh. “You guys have any kids yet?” Taryn was happy to be holding onto Craig’s hand now because she would’ve fallen if not for his support.

“Oh… no, not yet…” Taryn responded, forcing a smile and a small chuckle as she nudged Craig’s shoulder to not look suspicious. “But we want a  **houseful** , right?”

Craig forced a very heavy, frantic nod, trying not to show that he was indeed starting to sweat. At this point, both of them were, but not as much as Taryn when she leaned into Craig, pinching his back so he would wrap an arm around her only to speak when he shouldn’t have.

“Yes, we have intercourse every chance we get.” He agreed, not even sure why he said it, and Taryn was nearly ready to give up the whole undercover thing as she let out a choked “wow” at an agreement to his statement.

“Okay, well, we have a gym to decorate.” Keira insisted, immediately taking off and pulling Jude along with her. He turned back for a moment.

“Justine is going to be so happy to see you, Craig. “Bygones be bygones”, she always says.” He said before quickly following after Keira.

Craig and Taryn shuffled around the corner before quickly breaking apart, wiping the sweat away and Craig let Taryn hit him for what he said because even he didn’t know why it was said. They then continued on with their original reason for being there, without Taryn questioning what Jude meant and what happened between Craig and Justine. When they arrived at the Janitor’s personal office, Craig gave a brief, rhythm-based knock before walking right in as if he was returning home.

“Mr. Parker?” He called out, not afraid of how dark the room was, and Taryn trailed behind him, taking a look about. Needless to say, she was quite suspecting of how many shelves carried different knives, hammers, saws, and screwdrivers--not to mention pliers of different kinds and sizes. “Mr. Parker?”

“Craig.”

Both of them jumped a bit as an old man appeared, holding a plate of what looked like chicken wings dipped in barbecue sauce. He was very tall with a medium, solid build, and rough, light-olive skin, while his oval face adorned a lined forehead, arched eyebrows, thin lips, broken teeth, a crooked nose, and a pair of green, sunken eyes. His Adam's apple was prominent and his hair was short, thin, and silver-gray. Craig smiled upon seeing him.

“Mr. Parker. It’s good to see you.” He greeted as Taryn tried to get over her shock from the fright she had been given. Mr. Parker gave a smile back to Craig, albeit a creepy one, but that didn’t phase the twenty-six-year-old. Taryn tried to smile, but it didn’t work out too well and she simply gave up.

“You grew up good.” Mr. Parker complimented Craig in his old, raspy voice, and while Taryn was quite freaked out, Craig took this better than most normal conversations.

“Thank you, sir.” He thanked sincerely before motioning to Taryn as she moved towards him, forcing the best smile she could. “And this is my wife, Millie.”

“Oh, lucky woman.” Mr. Parker chuckled before holding out the plate, sucking some barbecue sauce off of his thumb. “Care for some wings? They’re succulent… juicy.”

“No, I’m… okay. I’m full. I already ate.” Taryn insisted, in which Mr. Parker shrugged without much of a care while she looked around a bit. “You, uh… have quite the collection of blades around here.”

“Yeah, well…” Mr. Parker trailed off, smiling his creepy smile at Taryn. “... a man never knows what he might need to cut.” Taryn nodded a little bit, tensing up as she turned to Craig, who put a hand on her back as he continued to smile sincerely.

“I was just telling my wife about Gabrielle Reid. Do you remember her?” He brought up, and Mr. Parker gave a nod alongside letting out a hum of remembrance.

“Folks here thought I killed her.” Mr. Parker remembered, getting a dark look in his eyes, and Craig gave a reassuring smile.

“Well, not me.” He reassured the custodian, who gave as pleasant of a smile as he could.

“No. No, not you.” He agreed, putting the plate of wings down and wagging a pointed finger at Craig. “I could always count on you.” He suddenly started walking over to his desk, eyeing the drawers. “Say, Craig, I might have me a dead rabbit around here if you’d like to cut it open.”

“That is so sweet.” Craig let out with a light laugh, clasping his hands together as Taryn gave him a shake of her head. “But, uh… not now. You probably have to get the campus ready for the big reunion.”

“... I suppose.” Mr. Parker sighed before Taryn spoke up, trying to jump into the conversation as if it was normal just to get some information.

“Yeah, I’m sure you’ve been working long hours late into the night, probably even weekends, right?” She questioned, trying not to sound suspicious. “Maybe even the weekend before last--were you working then?”

“Why do you wanna ask me about that particular weekend, hmm?” Mr. Parker asked in response, turning about to look at Taryn with an expression of doubt in who she actually was, and Craig stepped in.

“Just tell him, or she’ll keep asking. She can’t help it. She’s a newspaper woman.” Craig explained, in which Mr. Parker gave a fond, still creepy smile and nodded a bit. Taryn gave a slight shrug and forced a sheepish smile, although it turned out to look more like a fearful one.

“Well, that weekend I was away.” Mr. Parker explained, starting to go through his things. “I, uh, went and bought this.” He went into his locker last before letting out a sound and then slammed it closed as he held up two little charms. “You remember how I believed in good luck charms, right? Well, I finally got some!”

With a pair of laughs, Craig went forward and took a look at the charms with a fond smile, giving Mr. Parker a nod in approval at how awesome the little skull-shaped, glass pendants were. After a moment of chatting--which Taryn decided not to get involved with--Mr. Parker gladly gave one of the charms to Craig, who gladly accepted it, and then the pair went on their way. Taryn wasn’t sure what to think and Craig felt much better now that Mr. Parker knew he was here and would have his back.

 

* * *

2:59 P.M., April 25th, 20YY

“I’ll try to be quick with the facial reconstruction.” Cathy promised Craig over Skype, who leaned back in his hotel bed and let out a yawn. Reunions were tiring, and he was very uncomfortable with people who disliked him in high school. “Turns out our victim has a remodeled mandibular fracture, so that should narrow down the search.”

Craig paused before his face scrunched up in thought, and he sat up while staring through the screen.

“Let me look at that.” He insisted urgently, flipping his hand about.  “Can you put it on the medio cam?”

Cathy did just that even though she wasn’t sure why, and she watched Craig’s body went tense before relaxing with a slightly upset sigh. Her face scrunched up in confusion as she watched multiple emotions flicker through his eyes, and she let out a sigh.

“Is there a problem?” She questioned, preparing herself for some kind of news that may come as shocking, and she could hear Craig swallow thickly from over the monitor.

“This fracture was made by a blunt object striking her face at an almost 90-degree angle.” He explained, but Cathy shook her head, still not understanding why he was so unnerved.

“That’s in my notes.” She told him, looking at the bones quickly before looking back at the monitor. “The remodeling gave me an approximate age, about twenty.”

“Twenty-six, she was twenty-six…” Craig stated, and Cathy tilted her head in confusion and Craig closed his eyes, resting his head in his hands. “I know that because I’m the one who broke her jaw… with a baseball bat.” Cathy’s head straightened back up and she took a deep breath.

“You know the victim…?” She questioned, considering that Craig never had close ties with anyone back then, and even now he was almost completely closed off.

“This is one of my classmates… Justine Gibson.”

 

* * *

9:39 P.M., April 25th, 20YY

Craig always hated social gatherings, but the reunion hadn’t been so bad that far aside from the murder. After determining a possible murder weapon with Brian and Dacian’s help, and sending a picture back to the lab where the confirmed it as such, he needed to find out who made the decorations that ended up murdering Justine Gibson. So he went to the one person he knew that he could trust: Henry Parker. It seemed that Mr. Parker was well aware that Craig, Taryn, Brian, and Dacian weren’t just there for the reunion.

“You’re not here for the reunion, are you, Craig?” Mr. Parker questioned as Craig leaned against the bleachers beside him, giving a nod. “So… who’s dead?”

“Justine Gibson.” Craig replied immediately, and Mr. Parker gave an understanding nod. He pointed to the moon decorations scattered about the gym amongst the star and cloud decorations. “Those decorations were made here in the shop. Do you know who made them?”

Mr. Parker swallowed thickly before nodding and pointing across the room, straight at Keira Moss. Craig couldn’t say that he was surprised, honestly. One look at Keira and he could tell she was off. The weird, smiley ones always gave him the willies. He placed a hand on Mr. Parker’s shoulder to thank him and then motioned Taryn, Brian, and Dacian over to a corner so he could explain the situation. Before too long, they found Pauline amongst the crowd and told her everything, and then the five of them took Keira away.

And she knew why, so she talked the whole way to Pauline’s police car while said woman kept her in handcuffs. They caused a bit of a scene, but not so much as for the night to be ruined.

“Jude was mine. It was my turn to have him.” She told them as Taryn opened the car door and Pauline pushed Keira in. However, they kept the door open for awhile so they could talk to her.

“I beg your pardon?” Brian questioned over the whole “turn” thing, and Keira explained as if it was something completely normal.

“Justine and I made a pact back in 20Z0. We got rid of Gabrielle so we could share Jude. We had a  **pact** .” Keira explained, causing Craig’s face to scrunch up a bit before Pauline forced her into the car for real and Taryn shut the door. Unfortunately for them, the window was open a little and Keira insisted on speaking. “Where is Jude anyway? Someone should tell him that I’m here. He’s going to be worried about me.”

Pauline opened the driver’s door and closed Keira’s window before slamming the door and turning to the group, who all stood there awkwardly. Gabrielle Reid was killed by Justine Gibson and Keira Moss, and now Justine had been killed by Keira, who was going to prison for a long time.

 

* * *

7:26 A.M., April 26th, 20YY

With a shaking hand, the stick with dreaded double pink lines was put down beside two others. In total, there were six lines between the three sticks and something that was either a mistake or a miracle. Despite normally having a clear mind, Toriel found herself pacing in the bathroom, wall to wall with no room for error in her steps. She was angry at her carelessness and beyond worried about the outcome…

But she was filled with joy.

She reached for her phone, took a picture of the tests, and then unlocked the bathroom door, finally making her way downstairs. She couldn’t help but feel grateful as she sat at the table with her family, each of them as healthy as they could be, and she smiled into her mug of coffee that had been waiting all morning. It was still warm, somehow.

As much as she just wanted to tell everyone she knew right away, she thought that perhaps it would be best to wait a bit…

Yes, that sounded like a devious plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wOWIE, AIN'T THAT FUN?


	19. One Thing After The Other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some history. Some dreams, or nightmares. Some crime. Some science.
> 
> And depression. It can't get any better, y'all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ech...

_ Report No. One _

_ Today was the day that Iolanthe and Azul competed for their mark of mastery. Everett promised that there were no winners because when equal powers clashed, their natures are revealed, but Iolanthe got her mark while Azul didn’t. They both performed commendably, but only Iolanthe showed the mark. Azul failed to keep the darkness within him sufficiently in check and now, it’s like there’s some kind of rift between them. Iolanthe has achieved her goal to gain the mark and be a guardian, but Azul has fallen behind while Crimson and I remain as the kids unable to do anything. What really bugged me about the whole exam was Gideoni...for some odd reason, I feel like he’s not as good of a person as he says. _

_ There’s a lot I still don’t know, and a lot that I want to know, but I have this bad feeling that I’ll only get answers when I’m not ready for them. It saddens me. I wish there was a way to solve this. _

__ \- Jade _ _

 

 

* * *

_ With that, Crimson let out a yawn, causing Jade to giggle at him. She sat cross-legged in his lap while they sat in the grass, gazing up at all of the stars above, and had been writing in her notebook up until just then. _

_ “Tired?” She asked, and he merely gave her a tired glare, causing her to giggle more as she clasped her paws together. “... Crimson?” He huffed in response. “Do you really think that there are other worlds out there? Or… different times, or so on?” _

_ “... I think so. I mean, why would Everett talk about them so much if they weren’t?” Crimson asked in reply as he ruffled some of Jade’s fur, bringing out a whine that made him smile past his exhaustion. _

_ “Well…” Jade huffed, finally able to get Crimson to stop. “I want to explore them one day.” Crimson hummed a bit in response before pulling at her sleeve, tapping her watch to make her look at the time, and she pouted, leaning back against him. “But I do not want to, not tonight. There are no clouds!” _

_ “Jade. Crimson.” _

_ The pair looked over their shoulders to see Iolanthe, who stood there with her hands on her hips, and the pair of youngsters grinned like they didn’t know anything. Iolanthe didn’t fall for it one bit. _

_ “Bedtime.” She stated, and Jade pouted as she got to her feet while Crimson merely got up without a complaint. “Come on, off to bed with both of you.” _

_ Jade whined and gave up, letting out a huff as Crimson grabbed her wrist gently and started to pull her along. After a moment, Jade was happy to oblige, the pair running off towards the castle without a care in the world. Iolanthe couldn’t help but smile at the sight before frowning over what she had heard from Jade. _

_ Exploring worlds, nonetheless timelines, was a very dangerous task. It wasn’t a hobby, but she was still young and still had much training to do. It made Iolanthe sigh. _

_ She had no doubt that Jade would do something extraordinary one day, but at what cost? _

 

* * *

3:09  A.M., May 9th, 20YY

Fate bolted upwards far too quickly, slipping off the side of her bed with a quiet “thump”. As she sat up, rubbing her eyes that were still clouded with sleep, a tear fell down her cheek and it… scared her a little bit. From a lot of practice, she got to her feet and started to make her way downstairs. Her steps were odd and jerky but carefully placed as she swayed to avoid the spots she knew the floorboards creaked. She made it into the kitchen and quietly bustled around, hoping that if she had a cup of tea, then she could just go back to bed.

There was no use in thinking about her dreams or nightmares anymore because ever since her magic started developing, they had been so odd. If she really wanted to know about them, she was sure that she would run herself insane just trying.

“My child?”

Fate’s jumped from Toriel’s voice coming from the doorway. Their eyes met and the young girl couldn’t help but notice that her adoptive Mother looked a little… stressed out. Maybe she was just tired, much like her. Too tired, too frazzled, to the point where her vision practically vibrated.

“Why are you not asleep?” Toriel questioned, her tone laced with worry as she took a seat at the dining room table.

Blinking made Fate’s eyes burn and she looked down to avoid looking at Toriel, filled with an uneasy feeling. She didn’t look up as the kettle rumbled quietly to boil water for her tea, and her shoulder hunched inwards as she fidgeted from one foot to the other. Her eight fingers tangled up in each other and she stared at them, rubbing her thumbs along her knuckles. Fascinating. The word sent shivers up and down her spine.

“I… I had an odd dream… It happens…” She confessed, feeling out of place as she sat on the edge of one of the kitchen counters. The lights were off to avoid herself from being blinded, and she frowned slightly, feeling like she was humming from how restless she was. Every part of her was bubbling under her skin and with the way Toriel gazed at her in concern, she was probably shaking.

After making her mug of tea, Fate followed Toriel’s motions to sit down at the table, albeit she did it with a sigh. Toriel clasped her paws together, allowing a minute or so of silence to pass before she spoke up.

“You can get help with medication, if necessary. Why did you not speak up about it sooner?” Toriel questioned, and Fate let out a sigh, closing her eyes to rest them. “You are hurting yourself.”

“... I know.” Fate mumbled, and Toriel sat a little straight. The young girl leaned forward, curling in on herself as she placed her mug on the table. “I know I can’t… can’t keep… I just don’t like it…” She breathed deeply, burying her fingers in the fur atop her head as though to massage her scalp, but didn’t move. Toriel was patient. “I don’t like… thinking that I have to take medication to be normal… to do something other people find so easy… I don’t want more medication on top of the medication I have now because I’m already not normal and I don’t like being  **not normal** …”

After another moment of silence, Toriel let out a sigh and gently tugged Fate’s fingers from her fur. The young girl followed the goat Mother’s paws without protest, letting her tilt her head towards hers. Their eyes met and somehow, they managed to hold that connection.

“I am aware that taking medication is not easy. Taking it is hard. Acknowledging that you are not okay is hard.” Toriel sighed, her forehead bumping against Fate’s affectionately. “But you are strong in your own way, my child. Strong in a real way. Strong enough to take control and try to make things better-- **determined** to make things better. You are keeping yourself alive. Not the medicine, but you with your drive to take it. That is something to really admire.”

Fate blinked before taking a long, measured breath, and nodding slightly. Toriel didn’t let her go, however, not just yet. She could tell that the child wanted to ask something.

“... Strong enough to beat the dreams?” She questioned softly, and Toriel gave a gentle smile, her fingers biting into Fate’s little knuckles where they squeezed reassuringly.

“Strong enough to do anything.”

 

* * *

8:03 A.M., May 20th, 20YY

“The victim is a female, early thirties. It appears death was caused by the L1 vertebra being punctured, severing the posterior spinal vein and arteries. They were thrown through a glass terrarium in an apartment and while the bottom half is unaffected, Abner is taking care of the rats that decided to eat the upper half.”

After all his years of avoiding it, Craig honestly didn’t believe he would say something both scientific and disgusting, but there it was. This new victim had done it for him.

“I would say she’s thirty or thirty-one, based on the sternal rib ends, smooth, only a few pores, sharp rim edge irregularly contoured, zero projections. That, in conjuncture with the barely discernible fusion line at the medial clavicle, gives us precise age.” Marcel opened up, moving the sloppy remains to show what he was talking about. Craig and Liz watched closely, ready to correct any mistake or point out anything new. “And for injuries, a cursory examination shows sharp-force trauma present on the ribs, posterior ulna, humerus, and supraspinous fossa. It’s all consistent with being thrown through annealed rather than tempered glass; said glass approximately six millimeters in thickness, judging by the shards protruding from the scapula.”

There was a pause, and then Craig and Liz merely nodded, registering all of his words before leaning forward to examine the body on their own.

“Well, uh, feeding activity on the lower half of the body was isolated, leaving the entire hip-to-toes portion almost fully intact, including much of the small intestine and--”

The lower half of the body suddenly moved, causing Liz to pull her hands back while Craig and Marcel shared a confused look. Before too long, a python suddenly slithered out from between the intestines, causing Marcel to shriek and literally run away, albeit just to behind another examination table. Liz grabbed her phone and dialed a number while Craig carefully pulled the snake from where it had burrowed into the ribs. Marcel continued to scream from his awful hiding spot that he hated snakes and someone had to kill it.

The person on the other side of Liz’s phones picked up, and she didn’t hesitate.

“Abner, you should come back to the lab. We’ve discovered the warm placed where the python was hiding.” Liz explained, and Abner hung up immediately, leaving her to watch as Craig almost cuddled the damn snake.

“I’ve got to say… this is the best job I’ve ever had.” He insisted cheerfully.

Liz merely rolled her eyes.

 

* * *

2:09 P.M., May 20th, 20YY

Cathy had identified the victim based on facial reconstruction: a world-class competitive eater named Morgan Powell. Taryn and Jeremiah had interviewed the victim’s husband and the head of the competitive eating league, but the only thing they got out of it was the fact that Morgan had a big contest scheduled that week--one that could have netted her ten-thousand.

And despite all of his begging not to get dragged along, Taryn had brought Craig to said competition to interrogate the other contestants as one of the first steps in the investigation. While Taryn was pumped up to attend, even as a part of her job, Craig managed to keep her in line by science-talking through the competition. Such as, when number five was winning, it was easy to tell that he was using the Valsalva maneuver. It increased thoracic pressure throughout the esophagus, allowing him to ingest more food. Taryn got a kick out of it simply because at least Craig was managing to enjoy himself in one way or another.

By the time number six won, Craig had gotten into it, even reminding Taryn through a yell that Morgan’s top score was sixty-five hot dogs. This “Carlton Mills” was pathetic compared to her with his fifty-six and with Morgan out of the way, Carlton would get all the winnings. It was a good motive.

So they brought Carlton in for an interview, but unfortunately, because they brought him in right after eating fifty-six hot dogs, he couldn’t stop belching. While Taryn found it disgusting and begged him to stop, Craig was merely annoyed that it interrupted sentences but was understanding otherwise.

“He took in extra air because of the speed with which he ate. That, coupled with the digestive process made it necessary for his body to expel the gas he produced.” Craig explained, but Taryn gave him a look he knew all too well. It told him that she barely understood what he was saying, so there was no point in trying to make her feel better since she couldn’t even understand. “Uh… Mr. Mills, we’ve determined that Morgan was killed on Tuesday evening. Where were you last Tuesday?”

“Uh, Tuesday? Atlantic City.” Carlton responded with a bit of stammering. “I was at the all-you-can-eat buffets at the casinos. I go there to train sometimes. I was there. I swear.”

Taryn and Craig exchanged looks, and Craig merely gave a shrug. He believed it.

Suddenly, Taryn got a text that forced them from the interview room to around the competition area once again, but this time in search of Eric Wilson, the head of the competitive eating league. While Taryn ended up trapped by a person asking for directions, Craig went on ahead to find Eric shoving a hot dog down some poor girls throat, which called for Taryn rounding the corner to see Craig body-slamming a guy near three-hundred pounds. It didn’t surprise her, but at the same time, he shouldn’t have done it.

“Craig, we don’t charge at suspects!” Was all Taryn could say while the poor girl threw up and Craig pushed the guy down after he tried to stand up.

“I was just helping her train!” Eric insisted, and the girl stood up straight after coughing a bit from her vomiting fit. “You wrecked her personal best!”

Craig threw his hands up in the air, clearly exasperated with… well, everything.

 

* * *

5:01 P.M., May 20th, 20YY

“Look at the victim’s teeth.”

Liz sighed, leaning over to do what she had been told. It wasn’t often that she and Craig got to work alone, especially since Craig tended to go out in the field while she preferred to stay back at the lab most of the time. Upon examining the victim’s teeth, there was obvious tooth erosion, which Craig started to elaborate on.

“At first, I thought it was due to increased stomach acid from overeating, but based on the interview with Eric Wilson, vomiting seems like a more accurate cause.” Craig explained, and Liz’s face scrunched up in confusion. Champions never vomited, did they? As if reading her mind, Craig moved down the table with Liz following, using an inch ruler to show something that should’ve been obvious. “There is diastasis of the symphysis pubis--a very subtle widening.”

“... Meaning that Morgan wasn’t vomiting because of the quantity of food she was consuming.” Liz let out with a deep breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. “She was eight weeks pregnant.”

 

* * *

7:40 P.M., May 20th, 20YY

Today had been a very different kind of day.

Fate couldn’t help it and couldn’t make herself feel better because, behind the numbing of her limbs, there was no reason she should’ve had to stay in bed and feel like absolute crap. She just felt like she had fallen into some kind of hole where normal life and everyone else happened to be out of reach, and she was just stuck in her bed, in the dark. She didn’t feel sad and didn’t need to cry; she just felt nothing at all, as if she was detached from reality. She had no energy and little to no will to do anything besides lying lifelessly in bed for hours, without any interest in the things that she was usually ecstatic over.

Such was depression.

She was pretty much waiting for someone to force her back onto the rails of life because, at the moment, she felt derailed. She didn’t want to eat, she was tired no matter how many naps she took, and all rational thought had gone out the window to make room for unnecessary negativity. It just sucked ass to watch the petals and twigs that swayed outside the window, just to end up having sorrow creep up on her once again. It used to feel like rain, but now it was more of an ocean--like everything had condensed right above her head into a cloud large enough to block the sun.

Part of her just didn’t care, planning to stay there under her comforter that gave her the only warmth she could have, comfortably numb and standing on the brink of something she couldn’t describe without wondering.

There was nothing tragically beautiful about depression. It wasn’t sad songs and poetry, shy glances or drowning in the bath. It wasn’t lonely walks, vacant coffee shops, or smoking dusty cigarettes. It was unwashed clothes and either overeating or not eating at all; the inability to get out of bed. It was like she just gave up on herself, having an empty inbox, bursting into anger at herself, and crying herself to sleep. Mostly for her, however, it was uncertainty and confusion, constantly wishing that she could be somewhere else or someone else who didn’t have to deal with it. It was losing the will to live, whether it faded over time and prickled or simply lead to the inevitable. Depression is not tragically beautiful. It’s just tragic.

God, she both loved and hated psychology. She loved thinking about endless possibilities, but when she got like this, she wondered how long she really had.

Even so, she allowed herself to lie around lazily because it was better than some coping mechanisms others who suffered used. She wanted to try and push herself as far as possible in life to end up with some sort of happy ending to her book, so she would just lie there. At least she had eaten dinner, albeit she didn’t finish it. She would be okay. She just needed some time…

And another nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've fallen into another hole of depression. This time it happens to be worse, so chapter updates will, unfortunately, fall behind/take longer. I hope I didn't project onto the story too much, as I only intended to do so with Fate at the end because writing makes me feel better and the chapter had to be a little longer and I haven't talked about Fate's depression all that much.
> 
> Either way, I hope the chapter wasn't too shitty and I hope I'm not being shitty. I just feel shitty.


	20. Gaming.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Games. YouTube. That's literally all this chapter is, a shitpost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10 Pages  
> 5646 Words
> 
> To be ashamed, or to not be ashamed...

_ “Do you know what true power is?” _

_ Crimson yawned, much to Everett’s annoyance despite Jade being enthusiastic to learn. If only the boy was more engaged with learning than he might’ve been ready for a mark of mastery himself. Jade still had a long way to go and Crimson seemed to only be on her level because he only cared… moderately. _

_ “True power lies not in your weapons or your magic, but in your heart. As long as your heart is strong, you will be strong, and power lies amongst your loved ones. They will always be there for you to protect you.” Everett explained, and Crimson slouched while Jade straightened up in her seat. They were complete opposites. “Always remember that light and darkness are one. You cannot have one without the other. It’s like morning and night.” _

_ Jade’s paw went up and Everett let out a soft sigh, nodding to allow her to speak. _

_ “Then, why is it mandatory to keep your darkness completely inside if it’s supposed to give balance?” Jade questioned, and Everett felt as if he should trade places with Crimson. Jade was too smart for her own good, even if she wasn’t aware of it. _

_ “Not all people with darkness are evil, but if you fall into it, evil is what you are most likely to become.” Everett explained, and Jade nodded along slowly. _

_ The bell suddenly gonged and Everett furrowed his eyebrows together as Jade and Crimson exchanged both worried and interested looks. He disappeared behind one of the thrones as if he was going to contact someone and the youngsters heard someone running towards them, causing them to whip around. Iolanthe and Azul had come running. _

_ Everett reappeared from behind the throne and walked up to the four with a serious expression, bringing them all to stand up straight. _

_ “That was my dear old friend who keeps a close eye on the tides of light and darkness. His counsel serves as signposts on the road people like us must walk. That makes all the most reason for concern, for he tells me that the user of a very special magic has passed on mysteriously. The magic was tied to an item and because of that, it may be in grave danger. Not only from the forces of darkness as you may assume… but from another threat, one the feeds on negativity. As pupils of mine, you are tasked with striking down any who would upset the balance of light and darkness.” _

_ The four of them exchanged looks both nervous and determined before gazing back at Everett. _

_ “So here we are. Iolanthe and Azul, I need you both to get this situation under control. I have unlocked forbidden pathways that you may use to travel between this world and countless others. The darkness looms closer than usual within those spaces, but your hearts will protect you. Lastly, remember that order must be kept. Now go and fulfill your duty.” _

_ Iolanthe and Azul took off after giving Everett a pair of bows, and the pair of youngsters that had their lesson interrupted were waiting patiently for their own duties. Everett didn’t leave them out, which they were thankful for. _

_ “Crimson, for once I see that you are willing to step up. I am proud of you, but you mustn't be afraid of losing. Fear leads to an obsession with power, and obsession beckons the darkness. You must never forget that.” Everett explained, and Crimson gave a stern nod in understanding that Everett returned. “Crimson and Jade, you are to stabilize the town. If anything should happen, it would be much better if you were there, seeing as I must stay here to stabilize the castle.” _

_ Crimson and Jade shared looks, one of determination and one of excitement from not being left on the sidelines, and then they bowed to Everett. Once they had thanked him, they ran off to get themselves ready to head into the town. _

_ Everett sensed a disturbing force was at work but did his best to shake it off. His pupils--no, his children--were exceptionally extraordinary. Each and every one of them, no matter their irritating quirks. _

_ With the five of them, nothing could dare to happen. _

 

* * *

4:02 P.M., May 23rd, 20YY

Fate watched closely as the butterfly outside the car window beat its wings up and down so sharply that it looked like it was under remote control--as if a tiny electrical current opened and shit those vivid yellow blades. With legs that somehow stick, it held the stem of a flower that has already passed its peak, petals blackened at the edges and curling. Perhaps it knew that summer was approaching quickly, and thus it was time to harvest.

Part of her hoped that it didn't as the car started to move again, the light having turned green. It hoped that the butterfly lived every day without a single thought for the future or the past. There was as much beauty in that as in its sunny hues.

With summer quickly approaching, it meant many things as she awaited it with impatience. Summer was a good season: it was sleeping in the yard as if to mimic camping, or trying to convince Asgore to make a treehouse so they could try to sleep in that. Most of, summer was the return of Destiny, which she was most impatient for.

However, just right now, the approaching season happened to be an odd sleepover with just her and Danny, if you didn't count Amber. Danny had texted out of nowhere the other day and asked if she had finished Little Nightmares, in which she had replied that she never got around to even starting the game. She knew the context but had never actually played or watched anyone else play. Thus came the offer of her going over to his place for the night to play the game with him, and because of her recent depressed mood, Frisk had insisted that it would be good for her.

That's how she ended up in the back of a car driven by Toriel, pulling into the Cameron's driveway as of the home was theirs. She supposed that's how things worked when you became close friends with another family: “from my home to yours.”

The moment the doorbell was rung, Jessica had answered almost right away, telling Fate that Danny was downstairs in the basement and striking up a small conversation with Toriel after the young girl took off. Danny was busy plugging in the appropriate wires for playing his PS4 on a slightly scratched-up flat screen TV and Fate merely put her things aside, watching him do his work. She was only so good with wires. When he was done, he stood up from the floor with a grunt, giving a thumbs up.

“Now all I gotta do is set up the recording system and we’re ready.” He explained, and Fate gave a nod in understanding.

Ah, yes, that was also a thing. Danny had a YouTube channel that needed more content and Fate was happy to help him with a live stream of their gameplay. After all, she helped Frisk with their Tumblr blog that got viewed by thousands due to their title as the monster-human ambassador, so she could handle talking to some dozen people through a video camera.

Merely a few moments later, everything was set up including the basement door being closed over as to not annoy Jessica who was busy not only cooking but having to make a few calls for work-related issues. There was also Amber who was stressing with the art project for class that Fate had finished a week ago, luckily before her mood changed drastically. Danny and Fate had separate headsets connected by a headset splitter--one of the things Danny was most proud of purchasing offline--and Fate had possession of the controller despite her not being the best at video games.

They took a seat on the fluffy, cushioned couch that had recently been bought and would be considered old a mere few years from then, and Danny set up the live stream. In moments, there were a couple of dozen people who had joined.

“Hello, hello. Is everything working right?” Danny greeted, adjusting his mic in high hopes that everything was working as it should. “It’s Danny, also known as  _ Platinum Music _ , and it’s time to play some Little Nightmares with my very small friend--is this working?”

Fate merely let out a snort and waved at the camera a bit, unsure of how to socialize, even through a camera. When Danny was sure that everything was working properly, he sat back with a bit of pride.

“Does everyone have their security blankets?” Danny questioned with a slight chuckle, monitoring the live chat with something that Fate didn’t see often from her friend: happiness. “Okay, so, if you’re watching this live: hi. If you’re not, you should probably subscribe future spooky live streams.” He motioned to Fate, who was still trying to find the proper hold on the controller; having only eight fingers was more of a job than a casualty at the moment. “This is my small friend, Fate. She’s going to be playing today with little help from me because I’m really lazy and I want to see her get scared. She’s never gotten the chance to play before, or watch any playthroughs, so it’ll be a ride. Everyone buckled in?”

With little motions, Fate used the right joystick to go to a new game file, luckily finding the third file free. One was Danny’s, one was Amber’s, and now one was hers. Since this was a live stream, she would be sitting there for awhile, but Danny reassured her that his Mom would bring down food and such to keep them alive for the next several hours.

“No one except Fate get scared, okay? Everyone be strong; everyone be cool. Grab some coffee or something, buckle in--this is gonna get weird.”

And with that, they dived right in.

Three minutes and fifty seconds in, Fate had finally just found and opened the latch to the first vent with help from the chat instead of Danny. When the latch first opened she spent a couple of seconds staring at it before shrugging, saying “Sure, why not?”, and then managing to find her way to crawl into the vent, turning on her lighter again.

Four minutes and thirty-eight seconds in, Fate leaned back to take in the zoomed-out atmosphere as she ran Six up the first staircase, in which Danny commented on how it was like “Super scary Limbo”. She didn’t know what that was, but glancing over at the chat for a moment, she just happened to catch someone commenting “It gets worse”, which made her laugh nervously. It was a horror game, so it would obviously be scary, but she wasn’t sure of what would happen.

Five minutes in, Fate had found the first Geisha doll and smashed it upon recommendation.

Six minutes and thirteen seconds in, Fate was busy talking with Danny and just barely noticed the man hanging from the ceiling. When she did, she stammered over her words of “Oh great, there’s a dead man” and laughed nervously while pointing at the screen before just grabbing the chair with a look of shame. That brought Danny into nervous giggles about how Fate was going to handle the game, but nonetheless, they carried on.

Nine minutes and twenty-three seconds in, Fate had encountered the first leech. She had barely noticed it, but when she heard the squelching, she let out panicked noises, running in a circle before making the jump away. At that point, Danny had leaned out of view because he was laughing at how panicky she got. She had nearly thrown the controller in defeat, and the leeches were only the start.

Eleven minutes and ten seconds in, Fate was once again not paying enough attention and tried to run after a Nome with little focus, in which the boards broke from under Six and caused the yellow-clad child to fall into the leach pit. Fate was merely disappointed in herself for a moment before turning on her lighter, recognizing all the leeches, in which she started to run while letting out panicked profanities. When she was free of the pit, she took a moment to calm herself down and turn to Danny, telling him that “This game is amazing”.

Thirteen minutes and thirty-five seconds in, the Janitor had made his first appearance dragging a cage and Fate did not appreciate it, quickly climbing the cloth rope to get away. During the frantic climb, she muttered “Not cool” over and over again, knowing that she would have to see that guy again and yet hoping not to.

Nineteen minutes and forty-five seconds in, Fate encountered the first deadly light and had nearly died by being just out of the shadows. It took awhile to understand the pattern, but soon enough, she was able to get past it and move on.

Twenty-two minutes in, right after Jessica had brought down dinner and Fate had broken a second Geisha doll, she ended up under the bed in the room where you first encounter the Janitor, breathing deeply. After a couple of seconds staying hidden, she decided to simply drink some of the orange juice that Jessica had brought down, bringing Danny to give her an odd look. A man with long arms enters a dark room and you gotta hide? Fate’s first instinct: take deep breaths and then drink some orange juice.

Needless to say, she didn’t like that near-encounter besides the joke of the Janitor having some decent jazz hands. Someone in the chat told her to fight the creature and she responded with, “Are you insane? Did you see the size of those jazz hands?” through broken nervous laughter. It broke Danny to the point where he was on the floor laughing, tears leaking out of his eyes.

Twenty-four minutes in, after a lot of casual banter, they encountered the first hunger scene. Fate was simply concerned at first, not really understanding it right away, and voiced it honestly.

“Am I sick?” She questioned, looking to Danny before looking back at the game, continuing forwards slowly. “Is there an issue? Is this something I should be concerned about?”

Despite the hunger pains happening again, Fate kept going because there was really nothing else to do and encountered the mystery child on the other side of the bars. When they tossed the bread, she went towards it despite being skeptical and asking straight out, “You want me to put this in my mouth?” with a hint of disbelief. She decided why not, though, and watched with a weird look while Six chowed down on the bread. She glanced over at the chat to see someone nicknamed “Coyote” donate, in which she thanked him for the support and asked him if he was watching this scene with a nervous laugh.

She continued on afterward despite being weirded out slightly, convinced that this was really just the beginning and that she was not prepared if that was going to be an issue later--which Danny merely snickered from behind his hand.

Forty minutes in, Fate had finally managed to get to the point of freeing the Nome from the cage, which she did happily. She was a little upset when it ran off, but nonetheless waved it goodbye, happy to help even though it was just a small aspect of the game. She grabbed onto the noose afterward to go back down and enjoyed the little time it took, and nearly threw the controller out of fear when she let go and the cage that helped weigh it out like an even scale came back down. When it just stopped, she shook her head at herself and continued going, glad to get out of that area.

Forty-one minutes in and she didn’t enjoy the second deadly light, however. She died trying to keep up with the rolling janitor bucket--looking straight at the camera and voicing, “So, that’s not what you’re supposed to do, yeah?”--and luckily only died once, as she had picked up the patterns and gotten the timing just right.

Fifty-six minutes and fifteen seconds in, they came to the next hunger scene, in which Fate threw her head back with an annoyed groan. Even so, she went forward, searching for something to feed Six in order to move forward. When Six hunched over, she actually felt really bad because she knew how it felt, and she started to panic a bit, desperate to find some food for the little character. Wile Danny was checking brightness, all she had to comment was “Why are people singing, by the way?” with a nervous laugh before finding the meat in the cage. She immediately didn’t like it and voiced her thoughts.

“I don’t like that this meat is raw or the fact that it’s precisely set in a cage. It had also been chewed on by rats, which is unsanitary, but y’know what, we’re rebels and we’re hungry. I’d rather eat that then risk my life.”

So she went into the cage and ate the meat, her face scrunching up in disgust at the accurate sounds the game made for it. She had missed a checkpoint and promised to go back if she could, and just then the Janitor had caught Six in the cage, in which she stared at the screen with wide eyes and a slight pout. There was a bit of silence before she shook her head, speaking up again.

“Well, I’m not going back anytime soon.” She sighed, not enjoying how the Janitor’s freaky hands grabbed at a cage or how the cage was pulled away with high-pitched scraping. “This game is  **messed up** , but then again, so is life.”

An hour, one minute, and thirty-eight seconds in, she encountered the Janitor in his workspace and immediately turned around, telling everyone that she was not going to run into danger on perhaps. She didn’t like his blindfold, she didn’t like his cracks, and she didn’t like his jazz hands. She didn’t want to do it, but Danny assured her that as long as she stayed on the carpet, she would be okay, so she went for it. It didn’t go over in the best way and she was very panicked to the point where she did everything frantically, hoping to just get away, but it was understandable. The Janitor was one creepy dude.

One hour, five minutes, and fifteen seconds in, Fate had reached the shoe room, which she didn’t like one single bit. She was complaining when they got there and took a bit to actually jump into the shoes, in which she was  **not** happy to find out that there was an invisible monster underneath all of them. She was constantly panicking and not having a good time until she reached the end of the room, where she took a much-needed breather.

One hour, seven minutes, and thirteen seconds in, the Janitor had dropped in by surprise, causing Fate to shout and start sprinting, not enjoying the chase. When she ended up in the elevator again, she panicked trying to find a hiding spot until Danny gave in and pointed her in the right direction. With her intense, frantic, panicky breathing, Danny pointed out with a laugh that it sounded like she was trying to give birth, in which she whisper-yelled at him that this was exactly like childbirth, except with no pain besides the mental and emotional shit. When the Janitor left the elevator, she waited a good twenty seconds before she finally left her hiding spot.

One hour, twenty-two minutes, and three seconds in, Fate had reached the small room with the tiny, disturbing TV. She didn’t mind the old thing at first, but once she pressed the button, she didn’t like it anymore. Nonetheless, she did what she needed to, albeit it made her very, very uneasy. She commented on how this game was very stressful in many different ways. Especially when, six minutes later, she got jump-scared by the Janitor’s hands appearing through the holes near the pipes, which she really didn’t appreciate despite being able to get through the segment fairly easily.

Two minutes after that, she was in the small room at the end of the Lair, panicking and yet being very cautious with how she went about things. Danny tried to tell her what to do, but after picking up on it, she told him with a nervous laugh after nearly getting caught to shut up because he was being a distraction at the moment. He totally understood, watching her carefully because the music in this game could make anyone tense no matter how many times they listened to the soundtrack, and when she finally broke the cage and got his arms cut off, they were both joyous. While Danny ferociously told the Janitor to suck it, Fate let out a “Good day, Sausage Fingers”.

Just after that, when she was on the hook and one of the Chefs was taking a smoke break, she squinted into the distance and wondered aloud, “What is that? Is that the Pillsbury dough guy?”, bringing Danny back onto the floor much like nearly an hour ago. Moments after was the third hunger scene, in which Fate went along with it that time, totally ready to find some more food for Six. But as she went for the rat, her face scrunched up in disgust once again, and she started asking the game, “Are you serious with this right now?”. Long story short, she had to eat the rat to continue, although she didn’t enjoy it, and instead focused on the soundtrack, admitting that it was amazing and definitely set the mood well.

Upon coming across the actual kitchen, however, she wasn’t so excited about the first Chef or the fact that she had to travel all the way across a huge ass kitchen. Upon getting onto the beams above, she felt much better, albeit she still wasn’t having it with how spooked this game was making her. She was confused about the bathroom, but very happy to see a Nome for the first time in awhile, even if it ran away from her. She was  **not** very happy to be lead into a room only to find another Chef sleeping on one of the beds, constantly hiding when she could and remaining as silent as she could while getting the key she needed.

At the two hour mark, she was making her way through the kitchen again, but with the necessary key and with no room to mess up. She really didn’t want to throw all of her work away, so she was taking her time with every little thing, trying not to get seen or make noise or anything. She managed to get through, but just barely, and it was far too tense for her liking.

Two hours, nineteen minutes, and forty-seven seconds in, she climbed the plates to victory and rode the hook as far as she could. She realized quickly that she couldn’t continue on too far and dropped down, but let out a scream when one of the Chefs broke the door down just to chase her. Luckily it didn’t affect her performance and she kept running, sliding under the table before quickly jumping about and grabbing onto the hook away from the Chefs, in which she broke into nervous laughter alongside Danny. He hadn’t been sure if she would be able to do it or not, but long and behold she raised his expectations.

Two hours, twenty-two minutes, and thirty-two seconds in, they had finally made it outside the ship, which Fate wasn’t surprised about. She was only very confused about literally everything and very unhappy about the figures in the distance. When she climbed past the seagull, she jokingly asked it if it could fly her to safety before it took off, leaving her to continue on her quest and to find out that she was now in the Guest Area. She both did and didn’t enjoy seeing the guests up close for the first time or seeing the Lady outside of a weird start-up dream for the first time, watching over the guests creepily.

Two hours, twenty-five minutes, and fifty seconds in, she came across the first eating guest which she was not happy about and then ended up in the next room where the guest right by the door she came through went crazy. She was laughing the whole time she was running away because she was very scared of how he had just thrown the table like it was nothing and then came army-crawling after her little form. She made a light joke about how they were all disgusting heathens, eating her friends, but she was obviously panicking despite playing it safe and doing the right things.

Two hours, forty-one minutes, and thirty seconds in, Fate finally managed to get to the Spirited Away-esque part, in which she sprinted through like it was no one else’s business. She had a bit of trouble and was laughing nervously here and there because it was so tense, but after she got through it, she took a breather before actually admitting that so far, that had definitely been her favorite part. It was sudden, it was tense, and it was pretty cool and kinda different from the rest of the game.

They simply sat there for a bit and brought up stuff about the donations, which went to Danny’s food fund of, quoted, “I like food and I enjoy putting it in my face, but not like these sickos. I participate in gym class most of the time and I take care of my body because it is a temple.”

Two hours, forty-five minutes, and twenty-four seconds in, they came to a certain hunger scene that Fate was entirely oblivious to. She was in a fairly good mood, having been enjoying the game and the company of Danny alongside others who were being quite kind, and had no idea as she continued on in search of food that something bad was about to happen. The Nome held out the sausage and Fate let out a light “aww” before speaking about how the Nomes had been so kind and helped her out, although she wasn’t sure why. She was very happy until she clicked to eat the sausage, and then Six went for the Nome.

“Wait, no, no, no, no, n--”

She dropped the controller in defeat when she screamed despite not being able to take her eyes off the screen, her paws lifting to cover her open mouth. She definitely went into shock, going completely silent as the scene played out, and then she waited for a good minute after the scene had ended before punching Danny in the arm, in which he let out a pained yell. She was very upset and Danny did little to comfort her since it was just a game, and she couldn’t get over it even as she picked the controller up again.

“What have I done?” She questioned herself, her tone laced with shock behind her light, sad and nervous laughter. “I can fix you.” She picked up the sausage, carrying it over and placing it done on top of the Nome’s body, and when it fell over, she gave a heavy pout. She didn’t enjoy this entire scene. “... I’m kinda bummed now. I’m really messed up.”

She and Danny both laughed a bit over it before she continued on, coming across the Lady stepping into the elevator while she was still laughing over the fact that this game was so stressful and gave so many different emotions. When she saw the Lady, she shook her head while laughing before scrunching up her face, trying to look angry. However, after a moment of trying, she merely broke down into nervous and upset laughter once again, barely able to focus. When she pulled herself together and continued on, she was wiping away a couple of tears, a result of laughing too much.

Someone who had been away from the stream for a mere second and had come back just then asked what had happened, and all Fate could tell them was, “I ate the little tiny mushroom man”.

Two hours, forty-eight minutes, and thirty-three seconds in, she had found her way in the Lady’s Quarters, very focused and quite creeped out. She let out a whisper while crouching along, saying that the Lady had a very lovely voice for a psychopath, and Danny could only snort in response.

Two hours, fifty-three minutes, and twenty-eight seconds in, she ran from the Lady for the first time and when she escaped, she let out a nervous laugh alongside simply saying, “That’s terrifying.”, in which no one could disagree. A little after that they came upon the room full of mannequins and Fate simply stood there, lips pursed and eyes showing that she was both not happy and not impressed with this. She obviously didn’t like that room, as she finally pulled herself together and sprinted away to the necessary room, where the mirror to defeat the Lady was.

Two hours, fifty-five minutes, and sixteen seconds in, the final battle started and Fate, despite being terrified, was actually very confident. Upon seeing the Lady standing in the middle of the room with a dramatic spotlight, she made a joke.

“We meet again, Mettaton--I mean, creepy ass woman.”

The joke nearly had Danny on the floor again, albeit he stayed on the couch because he wanted to be available to help with the final battle if Fate needed it. Despite having a bit of a rocky start, she was able to get the hang of it, quickly moving through the battle as if she had played the game before. She admitted that it wasn’t an easy task, but was able to complete the final battle on the first try, much to Danny’s pride. It had taken him two tries to complete the final battle, but nonetheless, this was great!

“Two things.” Fate brought up between the end of the final battle and the last hunger scene, which she was very unnerved about. “One: my thumb hurts from holding down that button. Two: pew, get laser-beamed.”

Upon the final hunger scene making itself known, Fate inhaled sharply, looking very skeptical. When the Lady appeared in the distance and she was the only meat around, Fate put two and two together and threatened to quit if she was correct, despite knowing that she was indeed correct. She approached the Lady anyways and when Six lurched to eat her, Fate was taken aback, having hoped that she was wrong despite her gut feeling, which was usually always accurate. After the music ended, she merely shrugged, trying to make up for it.

“Just a little hugging. No big deal. Everyone calm down.” She insisted, letting out a nervous chuckle when Danny started to laugh. Upon noticing the darkness swirling around Six, however, Fate tilted her head a bit, slightly unsure. “Oh, I… become the Dark One or something, is that it?”

When the screen blacked out, she exchanged a look with Danny because she swore to God that she would not sleep if that was the end, but upon seeing the screen fade back in to reveal Six getting off the elevator with her new powers, Fate wasn’t too sure. Nonetheless, she went forward, her eyes flicking around the screen with uncertainty as the watched the lights flicker out. She loved the music and the atmosphere most definitely, and couldn’t sprint, so she simply let it play out. When the first guest that noticed her suddenly got his neck snapped, she jumped back a bit before leaning forward with curiosity.

“Well, ain’t that about a bitch?” She questioned no one in particular, just unable to help her words while she continued on and continued to kill guests without a say on the matter. “... Y’know what? I think I like this much better.”

She and Danny had a small laugh over that as she continued forward, finally making it to the end of the hall. Approaching the door, she spoke up again, letting out a light laugh.

“This was a weird day for a little banana girl. I’m a little confused, but I kinda like it.”

The laughter continued as the door opened, revealing the outside light and the staircase leading to the exit, in which Fate didn’t hesitate to go right for it. She had a lot of questions but only asked one.

“Is it done, or do I have to eat more people?” She asked nervously, letting out another light laugh, and Danny assured her that this was pretty much the end of the game. “So I’m a cult leader now, gotcha.”

That moved Danny to the floor.

Upon seeing some little Nomes coming to see her off, Fate let out a sound of shame, still feeling bad that she ate the Nome even if she really had no choice on the matter. The credits started to roll and she put the controller aside, leaning back on the couch with a loud exhale, looking down at Danny who was lying comfortably on the floor. It had taken three hours and two minutes, but she had completed the game, and after a bit of talking while waiting for the credits to end, the main menu popped back up.

The live stream ended after three hours, eleven minutes, and nine seconds, but their gaming didn’t.

After all, Danny wanted to see Fate play the DLC chapters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was fun.
> 
> Wonder what the dreams are doing there, though, huh?


	21. Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dreams become more frequent, and with everything good comes something bad because life sucks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hnn I'm both fucked up and super happy lmao

_ Jade and Crimson sat in the Central Square Garden of the town, both alert and yet bored because nothing was happening. It was a good thing that nothing was happening, they knew that, but at the same time, they wanted something else to do than sit around, eating their favorite ice cream. They were going to get fat if they ate too much, especially if they didn’t work it off. _

_ “Jade!” _

_ That was all they got to distract them: Jade’s older brother Finnegan. While Crimson was still bored, Jade was ecstatic to see her older brother after so long, immediately running up to him and giving him a huge hug. _

_ “Finnegan, it has been awhile!” She stated with a big smile, and he couldn’t help but smile back. Finnegan wasn’t one who you would see smile often considering that his ginger fur and daring green eyes usually warded people off altogether, but Jade could always make him smile. _

_ “It has. How’s your training?” He asked, and Jade clasped her paws together behind her back, swaying back and forth with a frown. “... Not too good?” _

_ “Well, it is going fine. It is just slow. Iolanthe has gotten her mark, Azul failed his exam, and then Crimson and I are simply just still getting lessons. My magic is having trouble developing, the Master says…” She explained to her older brother, who gave her a sympathetic look until she brightened up considerably with a hopeful feeling. “But I am sure it will come through soon! After all, Dad had trouble with his magic at first, but now he is a Master like Everett!” _

_ “Someday.” Finnegan agreed with a nod of agreement. “What are you doing here anyway? Are you grocery shopping?” Jade giggled at his joke, shaking her head in response. _

_ “No! I am on a mission with Crimson, actually.” She replied, bringing him to hum a bit and nod again. “I wish I could come home for a little, but it is a very important mission.” _

_ He sensed her slight bragging if her turning and placing a paw on her hip while the other rubbed her nose as if she was a professional didn’t give him any hints. He merely shoved her straw hat down into her line of view, causing her to squeak and pout at him while she fixed it. It made him chuckle a bit. After that, he suddenly lit up with remembrance, grabbing her paws and holding them tightly in his. _

_ “I was actually going to come up to the castle to speak with you.” He told her, and her expression went straight to worry, but he shook his head to tell her not to worry. “I have wonderful news, Jade.” She tilted her head in confusion, waiting for him to speak up because she still had  _ **_patience_ ** _ , even if she really wanted to know what got him smiling so brightly. He never really did. “Jemimah is expecting!” _

_ Jade lit up immediately, starting to jump up and down in excitement while clapping her paws together. She had such a smile on her face and then hugged her older brother tightly, giggling happily. _

_ “I am gonna be an aunt!” She exclaimed, pulling away from Finnegan just as quickly as she had gone towards him. “Is it okay if I tell the others?” Finnegan gave a nod and Jade only got more excited. “I swear that she will have a daughter! I bet it! I will take her for ice cream all the time when I am not away! We will sit and watch the sunset on the old clock tower!” _

_ She paced around in circles as she spoke all about it, bubbling with excitement, and Finnegan listened, merely nodding along. She then turned towards Finnegan again. _

_ “Who is the Father?” She questioned, having been away from home so long that she wasn’t sure if Jemimah was still in the same relationship or not. _

_ “Aachi, obviously.” Her older brother responded with a chuckle and a shrug. “They just clicked and since the baby is on the way, they’ve gotten engaged. They’ll get married afterward, though, since weddings take a lot of time.” _

_ Jade was even more ecstatic now than she was before, bright like a beacon of hope in dark times despite the mission at hand, which she hadn’t forgotten about. _

_ “That is wonderful!” _

_ She couldn’t wait for the future to show itself. _

 

* * *

7:04 P.M., June 2nd, 20YY

“All I do is blank, no matter what.”

After Chara read out the black card, their three friends and one sibling started to play their white cards slowly. The names under “Scoreboard” read out “Dannysaur”, “BinchdtBooty”, “PickerLicker”, “thisisnotfate”, and last but not least, “Chara.exe”. Meanwhile, they chatted about the black card, wondering what could come up, and once everyone had their white cards in, Chara went through them.

“All I do is Arachnophobia, no matter what.” Chara read out, giving that one a shrug. “All I do is Social Awkwardness, no matter what.” There were a couple of giggles, but it was pretty much 2.0 of stupid cards that people just wanted to get rid of. No one here was judging, though. “All I do is a dead baby, no matter what.” Everyone stayed silent, unsure of how to react, and Chara spoke up about it. “Now, contextually, that card could mean that some guy is dipping his oil rod into that dead, mother fucking baby with that ol’, swollen mushroom tip.”

Everyone started laughing over Chara’s explanation aside from someone who let out a “Jesus Christ!” and another who let out “What the fuck” through their laughter in the background.

“Why did you go into so much detail?” Danny questioned, sounding like he was in pain past his laughter and honestly, no one could blame him for that.

“Because the cards leave so much to be answered. I’m here to answer these questions.” Chara responded truthfully, only able to imagine everyone shaking their heads as they continued. “All I do is buying a season pass before even knowing what the DLC is.” They immediately clicked on “a dead baby” after reading the last one, giving a point to Aiden who was less than happy with himself.

It was Danny’s turn to read.

“My little sister can’t be blank!” He read out before breaking into tiny snorts, not looking forward to the answers because he indeed had a little sister. Hopefully, no one took that to their advantage, but hey, this was Cards Against Humanity. Everyone instantly submitted their responses, causing him to inhale sharply before going at it. “My little sister can’t be Ramen! True.”

“That’s would just be ridiculous. She can’t be noodles!” Adar laughed lightly, obviously being sarcastic as she laughed through her microphone. Chara leaned into their microphone.

“But she can be them chunks of meat floatin’ in my noodles if you dig what I’m sayin’.” They insisted both suggestively and weirdly, and everyone broke into laughter again. “Hannibal Lecter that shit.”

“Shut the fuck up…” Adar managed to demand through her laughter, only bringing on another onslaught of giggles and snorts. After the laughter died down, Danny continued.

“My little sister can't be the new generation of Furries birthed by Disney’s Zootopia!” He read out, still trying to get over before, and Chara only had more to say.

“Could be trying to scissor with Jessica Hopps and you don’t even fucking realize it.” They brought up, and Adar let out a questioning sound, in which Chara caught their mistake. “Judy Hopps! Judy! It’s  **Judy** ! Fuck!” Everyone chuckled at their mistake, but they recovered quickly. “Judy gonna be hopping all over that pussy if you don’t look out. Hide your sister!”

Everyone broke into laughter once again, unsure of why Chara was making so many inappropriate jokes, but it was helping them through the game less bored. Someone let out a “What the fuck is wrong with you”, but they meant it in a good way. Danny continued on.

“My little sister can’t be doing every position in the Kamasutra in one night!” Danny read out, and a couple of them laughed lightly because they were still trying to regain their breath from before. “My little sister can’t be accidentally inhaling cum!” Aiden inhaled his laughter and Danny gave an obvious-sounded shrug. “Maybe she is.”

“Th-That reminds me of that fucking video where the girl was sitting on the bed and the Mom was just like, “How the fuck you suck dick on accident!?”." Aiden explained, and that brought everyone into another round of laughter. While everyone was laughing about the video, Danny went ahead and gave Fate a point with her “new generation of furries birthed by Zootopia” card.

Aiden’s turn went by simply with Chara gaining a point and Adar’s turn went by with some laughter, in which Chara got another point. Fate’s turn went by with only the first card being read for “With great power come blank”, and Adar got a horrible point for being a horrible person by picking “Fucking a quadruple amputee because it can’t fight back”--albeit Fate didn’t want to pick it, but it was too good and she couldn’t read past it because she was in tears just reading the damn card. Chara’s turn went by with Adar gaining another point, but this time with the black card “I seriously doubt that anything could be worse than blank” and the white card “You little shits”. Fate got another point during Danny’s turn, then Danny got a point during Aiden’s turn, and then Chara got another point during Adar’s turn. Fate’s next turn, Chara got yet another point, and then during Chara’s turn was the kicker of the entire game.

“Sorry, I just dropped my blank.” Chara read out, and it only took a few moments for everyone to submit their cards, in which they didn’t hesitate to start reading them. “Sorry, I just dropped my Dixon Cider.” That went past with quite a bit of silence. “Sorry, I just dropped my… the impossible dream of stable lucid dreaming.” They got corrected but yelled back that they had read it to fit the context. “Sorry, I just dropped my brand new microphone and webcam.” Once again, they got corrected, and once again, they yelled back that it was for fitting the context.

The last card was what started it all.

“Sorry, I just dropped my cum dumpster.” They read, and everyone broke into small fits of laughter while Adar merely spoke up.

“Yeah, I’ll pick her back up at nine.” She added on, and that got everyone into full-on laughter, but Chara wasn’t done yet. Adar had said the wrong thing in a Cards Against Humanity game against them.

“That’s awfully late for a Daycare Center to be open.” They insisted, and everyone broke into offended laughter while Adar merely left their Discord call despite gaining a point because it was their card and Chara chose it, only bringing forth more laughter. That was so wrong to say and that was so offensive, but that was what this game was able, so they all merely laughed it off painfully.

Nonetheless, the game continued and when it ended, Adar had won and everyone was in a fairly good mood. It lead to a good night’s sleep for everyone.

 

* * *

12:03 P.M., June 5th, 20YY

This was beyond strange; the blue hydrangeas planted in the front yard, the soft tinkling of the wind chimes that would remind one of summer afternoons. The blue paint had faded, but it was still recognizable--like the color of the sky before a bad storm. Everyone was getting out of their cars, Craig and Marcel from their police car ahead, Frisk and Chara nearly falling out of their seats with Asgore getting out to simply make sure they didn’t run off. Toriel turned around in the driver’s seat with an understanding look, reaching out to place a paw on Fate’s knee, but the younger girl just continued staring out the window, holding Flowey’s pot closer to herself.

She had wanted to come back to her aunt's place on a good note, for a good reason, but this was far from that. If she stopped to dwell from even a fraction of a second, her face started to get wet with tears, so she finally just got out of the car. She had only seen her aunt briefly last year and she most definitely wasn’t the same, but it still hurt to know that Casmyr had finally given in, rolling into her grave before anyone could try to stop her. Not that there was anyone around to do so except some dumb nurse who had left the moment death had come to the doorstep.

She could barely think about how the Hell, in the first summer month, could it be snowing in Chicago. It was much colder here than it was back in Ebott, but they were only three hours apart, and it made no sense when she took a moment to think about it. However, her mind was quite occupied with other thoughts, as shown by how she hadn’t pulled up her hood on her own to keep warm from the falling snow Toriel had to do it for her, and then felt obliged to be right by her side when they went up to the door, Craig searching through his keys for the proper one.

Able to take a moment, albeit a quick one, it was easy to say that the snow alighted on Fate’s face softer than the kisses her Mother used to plant, and yet just as cold as the memories had turned. They were here, not her distant family, and that definitely meant something. It was like a new page, but she didn’t want to flip to it. She wanted to turn the pages back and dell on the fine details, like how her aunt always wore her Grandfather’s rubber boots with four layers of socks rather than buy her own, and how she never got too old to splash around in puddles.

When the door opened and everyone piled in to simply get out of the cold, Fate paused in the doorway, despite Flowey’s complaints about the cold. She wasn’t sure if she could face everything even though she promised that she would be fine earlier and the reality hit like a stab to the stomach, which she knew the feeling of. All she could do was take it in. Death was permanent. Death was forever. Death was when the spark in the eyes was extinguished, yet unlike fire is utter without smoke.

And yet, she ended up inside anyways, helping to go through her aunt’s things and clear out the home for the next person or family who might move in. It was much colder with her coat and shoes, despite wearing a sweater and multiple layers of socks. Flowey was placed on an empty desk in the bedroom Fate had been assigned to, and she just sat on the bed for a while, wondering why she was here with people who were complete strangers to her aunt. Why didn’t her biological family come? Were they really that detached from Ebott and its surroundings?

Nonetheless, she eventually had to get to her feet and start clearing out the room. That meant taking the flowers from the windowsill, pouring out old tea from multiple cups, packing up different photo albums that had been made so very long ago by her and her biological siblings. The fact that her aunt kept them, especially in such good condition, meant a lot. Still, she had to take the “get well soon” cards and stuffed animals, and pack those up with the photo albums even though just glancing at the cardboard box getting full with things made her shudder. She fluffed the pillows, made the bed, and stacked up the few chairs in the bedroom before going through the drawers, neatly folding all of the nightgowns and putting them into the cardboard box as well.

When she was done, she simply taped up the cardboard box, wrote “bedroom” on it in a black sharpie, placed Flowey on top of it, and then pushed it into the main hallway. Grabbing Flowey, she went to go sit in the living room where Marcel was packing up a lot of little knick-knacks and all, happy to talk to her even if she didn’t respond. He made it a little easier on her by talking about what they should do this summer, which resulted in him talking about a lot of fairs and the bake sale--and, of course, graduation, which she didn’t know how to feel about. The graduation ceremony was on the fifteenth, the bake sale was on the twentieth, and then school ended on the twenty-first, in which she stopped attending elementary after that.

That conversation ended with the thought of how too many things were changing, and she wasn’t sure how to feel about any of it.

 

* * *

_ Jemimah enjoyed the leaning tree that adorned fruit of all shapes and sizes. It was an odd tree, but beautiful like the rest of her home. Spotting a star-shaped fruit, she grasped at her left wrist and thought of the birthmark her family shared, feeling a sense of dread in her SOUL. _

_ “... I hope we're ready for the storm that’s coming.” She whispered before hearing a little boy shout, looking over the bridge to see a pair of boys run under the bridge. They looked like they were around five years old. One had familiar white fur and hazel green eyes, while the other had familiar lilac purple fur and azure blue eyes. _

_ Prince Declayne and Prince Euliam of their kingdom, albeit they had a different castle from the Master’s Castle. Euliam had won the race and then they both looked up, noticing Jemimah on the bridge, and she couldn’t help but smile down at them. Such young children, but they had such big responsibilities… she could feel it. They ran off again after waving and gaining a wave in response, and then she frowned, letting out a sigh. _

_ “I wouldn’t wish our lives on children, but it seems as if we’re all just kids being thrown into war.” Jemimah sighed, shaking her head as she looked out at the sunset. Even with all of this, she could feel something different being thrown into perspective. The relationship between humans and monsters was becoming thin, as was the line between light and darkness. “Master… what’s to become of us?” _

_ A voice rang through her head, something she remembered after her little sister had been born, and she fought against the urge to cry. She couldn’t be afraid… _

_ But she was not to be fearless. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit is gonna get real but this is also a kinda chill arc so


	22. Amusement or Confusion?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dreams only continue and they just get worse...
> 
> Meanwhile, in the real world, some of our heroes spend a day at the amusement park where we meet a new character, and Fate gets to talk to Gaster about her odd dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a doozy.  
> Also, a new character, what? No, I didn't cave into making a supposed-to-only-show-up-once-character into an actual minor character that might become major. How dare you accuse me.

_ Jade rushed up the huge, flat stairs leading up to the Master’s Castle, trying to catch up with Crimson the best she could because, despite all of his laid-back ways, he could run very fast. It proved to be a challenge for her, especially with the stairs making it harder on her little legs, even if there was only a 17.78-centimeter difference in their heights. _

_ Making it to the top of the staircase and taking a moment to catch her breath, she ran through the gates only to see Everett pointing his weapon at Crimson, prepared to attack. Before he could do anything, Jade had stepped in front of the boy, holding her arms out to fully take the attack meant for her best friend, which brought the Master to lower his weapon. _

_ “Master, have you gone mad?” Jade demanded, and Everett gritted his teeth together in frustration. _

_ “Jade, I command you to step aside.” Everett ordered, but she inhaled sharply and shook her head. “You will not heed your Master?” _

_ “I will  _ **_not_ ** _!” She growled, clenching her paws into fists to not show how scared she was. What happened? Why was Everett suddenly so against Crimson? “If you want to hurt Crimson, you will have to go through me!” _

_ There was a pause that lasted too long for her liking, and her heart dropped to her feet when Everett raised his weapon once more. _

_ “If you don’t have it in your heart to obey, then you will have to share Crimson’s fate.” He told her sadly, turning his head away, and Jade felt Crimson grab her shoulders. She knew that he was going to try to move her, so she turned around sharply and wrapped her arms around his torso, digging her claws into his jacket despite her straw hat falling from her head. _

_ “I made a  _ **_promise_ ** _.” She told him sternly, not daring to let go even when she felt Everett’s magic surge into an attack. _

_ Before the magic could reach them, someone had deflected the light with an unsteady amount of darkness, pushing Crimson and Jade off of their feet. Instead of hitting the ground, they were thrown into a portal of darkness that would lead them somewhere hopefully safe, in Azul’s mind. _

_ “You may be my Master, but I will  _ **_not_ ** _ let you hurt my friends!” Azul yelled, readying himself for the fight of a lifetime. Everett was not happy. _

_ “Has the darkness taken you, Azul?” He questioned, but Azul didn’t answer, merely rushing into battle. _

_ This was why he hadn’t gotten his mark, but at this point in time, the mark meant nothing. _

 

* * *

9:09 A.M., June 10th, 20YY

Fate really didn’t know how to feel about  **actually** going to a Theme Park.

She was nervous and yet, it created butterflies in her small, weak stomach. Deciding what to wear and what to bring wasn’t very hard when she had two siblings, one very excited and the other exceptionally irritable, nagging at her to not take too long and not to forget certain things. Just when she thought that she was free of the nagging since Frisk and Chara went downstairs for breakfast, Toby started pulling at her pajama pants and whining for her to hurry up because she was the only one who fed him tasty food in this house, apparently.

After finally picking an outfit, packing a backpack, and picking at her breakfast while Frisk signed excitedly over what to do, they all piled into the car to drive off. Others would be meeting them there, but if Fate was going to be honest, she already felt crowded by the overfilled car; Toby was taking a nap under her feet while Flowey took up her lap. However, upon arriving, that crowded feeling suddenly became a feeling of being over-crowded with the mumbled chattering, hyper laughter, and voices ringing out like creepy children. Neon signs blared, causing her to try and block them out with her straw hat, simply following behind her family by keeping her gaze on Frisk’s bright red shoes.

The park just appeared to be a place for rickety rides, food trucks, several large tents, and strange, mysterious buildings. That was one way to put it, while the in-depth way of looking at it revealed a place with lots of games, tickets to get prizes, and the outside area containing things like Go-Karts, a Ferris wheel, bumper boats, a few roller coasters, and of course: people. To be fair, there were humans and monsters alike running about and enjoying their time, but that didn’t make Fate feel any less like an antisocial ant. Antisocial because of the people and an ant because of her size, especially when Frisk had to help her wrap her wristband up due to her wrist being much too small for it.

And since she didn’t know what the Hell to do, she simply followed Frisk and Chara while holding onto Flowey like a lifeline, not to mention Toby’s leash. It was Toriel’s way of making sure the little white dog was looked after and, in a way, didn’t do anything that would get them all in trouble. Toby tended to do that, but nonetheless, her siblings were going for the games and prizes first, leaving her to follow. At the prizes station, they had a wide range of stuff like cute dolls, candy, and things like that, but nothing specifically… eye-catching. Chara caught sight of two pairs of rollerblades that would fit them and Frisk, and were 3500 tickets each, while Fate continued looking. Flowey wasn’t particularly interested in anything except eating so much that he would hopefully die, in which she promised to look after him, but Fate managed to finally catch sight of a huge Stitch plush that was 5000 tickets.

So the three siblings plus one sentient flower and one little white dog made it their goal to gather 7500 tickets, which they can undoubtedly do if they worked together and worked hard.

It mostly ended up with Frisk and Chara challenging each other at different games with Fate occasionally being pulled into the fray. The pair of twin-like siblings ended up on Dance Dance Revolution, going from easy to medium before Frisk challenged Chara on expert despite the other keeping themselves on medium. Chara still lost and Fate laughed watching the pair, enjoying the odd music. After three or four games, they went to other games such as a shooting gallery that Fate was scarily better than Chara at, a balloon popping game that Chara won out amazingly on, a blockbuster game that Frisk actually scared Chara on because on their precision, and an infamous ladder game that ended with Chara tangled up while their siblings won tickets. They got a lot and tickets from a ring toss game, two games of whack-a-mole, and plenty games of ski ball.

Eventually, they finally hit the jackpot during a couple of knowledge and math games that Fate aced every time she played, getting them their last 2500 tickets despite angering some other teens who didn’t know their stuff. They were able to get their prizes before rushing off to find their parents, who were getting off the bumper boats with soaking wet fur and huge smiles, especially when they noticed the prizes their children had won. Upon leaving their prizes with their parents, albeit Fate felt a little bad doing so, they ran off to different rides that Fate often sat out on--not only to take care of Toby and Flowey but because of damned height requirements. Being thirty-five inches was not easy when you were at an amusement park full of people.

She did get to ride a few things while leaving Toby and Flowey with her belongings, in which Flowey promised to behave and keep Toby in place for the exchange of a cookie. She got to ride a ladybug-themed ride that went along a track and leisurely spun, a ride that propelled around in an orbit-like pattern, one of the smaller roller coasters that was still pretty fun, and she got to ride with Frisk on the Go-Karts as long as she wore a helmet and buckled up properly. The lady running them was really nice and as laid-back as she could be, albeit they spun out because some guys slammed into them and pushed them into a wall.

When they finally got off the Go-Karts, it was time for all of them to meet up for lunch, in which they all managed to remember the rendezvous spot. After eating lunch, Fate went to go wash her paws because they had gotten a little sticky from helping Chara clean up their accidentally spilled juice, but upon leaving the bathroom with Toby padding along behind her, she noticed the teenage boys from the Go-Karts waiting outside by the gate. They seemed to be waiting for her and honestly, it scared her shitless, so she tried to rush past, but the only monster in the group grabbed the hood of her light sweater, forcing her in place with a squeak.

Upon examining the monster, she found him to be a 4’5” rabbit with a medium, solid build, dark orange fur and beady black eyes, also slightly underweight. He had a square face, a high forehead, a thick neck, thin lips, and he wore dark clothing that consisted of shorts, which revealed a tattoo on his left calf--albeit Fate didn’t know what it was of. He gestured quickly and slouched, hunching his shoulders as he spoke up quietly, only loud enough for her to hear.

“Sorry for spinning you out.” He apologized, causing her to tilt her head in confusion. Was that all this was for? “Just pretend to be unnerved or the assholes behind me will show their jackassery.”

Upon being shoved aside kind of gently, Fate was left confused as the gang of teens took off with hefty laughter, clapping the rabbit monster on the back as if he had actually done something. She decided not to think about it and to just go back to the table that the others were at, although a lot of them had already left. By the time she sat down again, it was just her and Gaster, if you didn’t count Flowey and Toby because they were stuck with her. It had been awhile since she had seen him because they had both been busy with their own things, as well as the fact that Gaster was still getting used to life outside the void, so she gave him the best smile she could give in that moment. He responded with a polite smile in return.

“Hello, child.” He greeted calmly, relaxing in his seat. She didn’t even notice that he had been tense. “How have you been?”

Taking a deep breath, Fate had to think about it for a moment because Gaster knew a lot, but how much did he know exactly? She decided that it was now or never for her to find.

“I’ve been okay, but I’ve been having odd dreams lately.” She admitted, leaning forward a bit to rest her chin in the palm of her paw. “They’re not nightmares, not exactly, but they… make me feel  **off** .”

“That’s an understatement.” Flowey scoffed with a roll of his eyes. “At least once every week, if not more, you’re up at around three in the morning to make tea to try and settle yourself back to sleep. They’re screwing you up.” Fate frowned, but mostly because she knew that he was right, and Gaster clasped his hands together on the table while he thought about it.

“... You like to write, do you not?” Gaster questioned the young girl, who gave a nod in reply. “Think of these dreams as a story and tell it to me. Perhaps, from there, I’ll be able to make sense of them. If not, then… well, we might have something else on our hands.”

“We really need to get out of Ebott…” Flowey grumbled, stealing a fry from Fate’s plate because he knew that she wouldn’t mind, albeit she was too busy thinking of how to make her odd dreams into a story for Gaster to notice.

“Well…” Fate trailed off, her expression turning into a quite troubled look as she lowered her gaze to the table. “... It’s going to sound absolutely absurd, but I keep dreaming of something that happened before the war between humans and monsters.” Flowey choked because he hadn’t even been alive when that had happened, he had been born after, and Gaster seemed intrigued. “Something surrounding the balance between light and darkness, about these apprentices of some Master, although it seems that may Masters go mad in the end. There’s this certain group… this certain girl…”

Fate paused for a good while before suddenly letting out a groan and slamming her head on the table, her voice cracking as if she was ready to cry.

“But I don’t even understand it! Everything is some sort of code for something else and it makes me want to  **die** !” She complained although that last bit was her exaggerating a bit, and Gaster cautiously rested a hand on the young girl’s arm. It was supposed to comfort her, but it just brought her attention to him instead, in which he took a deep, unsteady breath.

“Perhaps, instead of waking up after a dream and not knowing what to do, we can meet in the void your mind has created. That way we can talk about it. I cannot promise any answers, but I can promise to listen.” Gaster suggested and after a moment, Fate gave him a gentle smile and a nod in agreement.

That sounded like a better idea than constantly freaking out about something she couldn’t control or understand.

 

* * *

_ Jemimah stared at the scars, the aftermath, of the Clavis War in the Claves Graveyard. There, her Paternal Grandfather had fought against the darkness for the protection of the light and while some told her that he had gone missing, others insisted that he had died. Even with her family line, something in her heart told her that bad things would happen. _

_ Nonetheless, she began to walk. Halfway to a crossroad of magical weapons that had long since lost their power, Iolanthe had joined her at her side, and the pair of girls approached Azul together. All three of them remained serious, the pair of girls stopping in front of their friend, albeit both of them lowered their heads. _

_ “We were informed that Master Everett was struck down.” Iolanthe sighed, looking back up at him, and Azul’s expression twisted into that of pain as he looked towards the ground. _

_ “... It’s true. I… I was stupid, and I helped Gideoni do it.” He admitted, causing Iolanthe to clench her paws into fists while Jemimah gazed up at the brown-furred teen, her eyes brimming with tears. “Master Everett… he tried to hurt Crimson and Jade. I only fought because I wanted to protect them, but I was tricked. Gideoni set everything up.” _

_ The pair of girls both sighed and nodded. Now they understood; they had the full story. _

_ “It was all so he could awaken the darkness inside of me.” He choked out, looking up at them, but more so at Iolanthe. “You were right, Iolanthe, and so was Everett. I needed to be watched. I went astray… but no more.” As he gritted his teeth angrily, Jemimah stepped forward, shaking her head at him. _

_ “What else is darkness but hate and rage?” She asked, nearly demanding an answer from him that she didn’t want or need. “Gideoni is feeding the dark fires within you, making you fight. You’ll go astray again. Tell me, how does that honor our Master’s memory, Azul?” _

_ With tears starting to surface again, they were interrupted by two pairs of footsteps coming towards them, bringing them around to see both Crimson and Jade, both looking exceptionally guilty for something that wasn’t their fault. Jemimah stood between both pairs of friends, frowning sadly at her younger sister who couldn’t look up from the dusty ground out of fear that she would break down. _

_ “... Gideoni wants his pawn, Ryker, and I to fight, all to make some kind of… weapon.” He explained, and Jade gripped onto his sleeve gently, trying to comfort him the best she could in her upset state. “Everett said that he couldn’t let it happen… and he tried to destroy me for it.” _

_ Everyone froze for a minute before Jade finally looked up, her bottom lip trembling and a few tears cascading down her round cheeks. _

_ “I… I had a dream, but I did not want to believe it…” She admitted, and their hearts dropped as she let out a sob. “I did not want… t-to think that any of this would actually happen… b-but if I had opened up, m-maybe the Master would be alive… a-and we would all be okay…” _

_ Jemimah shook her had, gently grabbing her younger sister’s paw and squeezing it tightly, but not uncomfortably. Jade looked up at her older sister, obviously overwhelmed with guilt, and Jemimah lifted her other paw to wipe her sister’s tears. _

_ “You are no older than any of us and look at the mistakes we’ve made. Your mistake is the smallest, Jade, especially since you owned up to it.” Jemimah explained, seeming to make a promise, and it took a moment but Jade finally gave a nod of understanding in response. “... But I know that lip, little sister. What else did you hear?” _

_ There was a long pause as Crimson reached out to place a comforting paw on top of Jade’s straw hat, and Jade squeezed Jemimah’s paw as if it was a lifeline, taking a deep, shaky breath. _

_ “... That Mother passed on because of me.” Jade replied, her voice shaking with mercy, and Jemimah went still as Jade lifted her free paw to where her SOUL would be, clutching at her vest. “That my SOUL is weak because I was not born right… and that my magic is taking so long to come in because it is so dangerous, and so much for my little body.” _

_ The friends stood there, unable to speak, and Jade took a steadier breath, slipping her paw out of Jemimah’s grasp. She lifted it up to grab onto Crimson’s instead and they squeezed each other’s paw so hard that their knuckles started going white. _

_ “... I may have to fight Ryker, and Jade may end up unable to fight back because of her weakened SOUL…” Crimson brought up, unable to look at his friends in the eyes, and Jade lowered her head again, her tears making contact with the dusty ground. The wet spots didn’t remain for very long, quickly drying up so the ground appeared as if nothing had ever touched it. “If we end up on the wrong side, guys… we need you to--” _

_ “The five of us can never be torn apart, alright?” Azul demanded, storming forward and squeezing Crimson’s shoulder, but Crimson pushed his hand away. _

_ “We’re asking you, as friends…” He picked back up, grabbing at his shirt anxiously while he spoke the last line. _

_ “ _ **Put an end to us** **_._ ** _ ” _

_ Their hearts stopped, staring at their youngest friend with wide eyes before a wind started to blow, chilling them all right down to their SOULs. They turned, seeing in the distance that Master Gideoni was walking straight towards them with Ryker right by his side, the pair only stopping when they were close enough to be heard. The quintet glared at the pair, nearly drowning in darkness and yet, Gideoni was smirking because his plan had fallen together much better than he could’ve hoped for. _

_ “Behold!” He almost demanded, throwing up his arms in triumph as he motioned to the scars of war around them. “These lifeless weapons used to be full of power; united with the hearts of the Masters. On this barren soil, SOULs of light and darkness were locked in combat as the great Clavis War. Countless wielders of great magic gave up their lives, all in search of one, ultimate magic weapon. And it  _ **_will_ ** _ belong to me…” _

_ His arms came down, one resting behind his back and one coming down to point at Crimson, who merely glared under the pressure despite his feet shaking. _

_ “Purpura Clavis.” _

_ All of them summoned their magic weapons aside from Jade, who took a couple of steps back and held onto her straw hat out of an anxious habit she had grown into. _

_ “Young Jemimah… Young Jade… your Paternal Grandfather fought on these grounds.” Gideoni spoke up, and Jemimah growled at this absolute asshole speaking of her family. He had the nerve to address her and Jade as if they were his apprentices, not Everett’s. “Ultor, Everett and I trained together to gain our marks, and we succeeded. Do you know what happened to your dear old Grandfather Ultor?” _

_ “I believe that he’s missing, but other said he died in the war. Even if he is dead, I’m proud because he died protecting what’s good: the  _ **_light_ ** _!” She insisted, but Gideoni started to laugh as if that was a joke. _

_ “You want to know the truth?” He questioned, although he gained no response. He didn’t need one. “ _ **_I killed Ultor_ ** _ , right here! I stabbed him in the chest with one of the most powerful weapons that had just been lying around due to the war being so hectic, and I killed him!” _

_ Jemimah and Jade’s hearts stopped, but as Jade simply fell to her knees in crushed hope, Jemimah let out a scream and charged at the old man. However, she tripped due to a cliff growing from the ground out of nowhere, bringing her to look up and start running again. _

_ The battle started. Everything turned dark and all of the dead weapons started to come together for Ryker, who jumped onto them as if he had just gained a new ride in the form of a glider. _

_ “ _ **_Split_ ** _!” Iolanthe screamed, and the four did as she ordered, albeit Crimson had to help Jade back onto her feet because the last couple of hours had turned her into an awful mess. _

_ Ryker knocked Crimson down and threw Jade up high, leaving her no padding as she came crashing back down into the rocky ground, curling into a ball from the pain. Sure, she had fallen from trees many times, but just something about Ryker’s hit hurt so much. Gideoni summoned his magic weapon and went for Jemimah and Azul, but Iolanthe reached them just in time, swinging her sword at the old man. However, the Master disappeared momentarily before appearing behind the second eldest girl, grabbing her by her head and holding her up for all to see. _

_ “Iolanthe!” Azul called and was about to run at Gideoni, but the dead weapons knocked him off the cliff before Ryker landed on the ground next to his Master. Crimson finally got to his feet and saw what Gideoni was doing to his older sister-like best friend. _

_ “Iolanthe!” He called out, but Gideoni suddenly encased her in ice and dropped her off the side of the cliff, bringing everyone to panic for a moment. Luckily, Crimson had managed to sprint quick enough to catch the older girl just in time, holding her and staring at her frozen face. “Iola, are you okay?” The older girl looked up into his eyes with such emotion that he wasn’t sure how to feel. _

_ Gideoni shot an orb of dark magic into the sky and the clouds parted themselves to introduce a bright moon shrouded in the darkness trying to shine down on them, causing many of them to blink with tears in their eyes as they looked at it. It was like a nightmare they would have in their single-digit years after reading a scary story and it only really hit them because they had heard of this before, a bright moon shrouded in dark magic… it was a summoning for someone  _ **_dangerous_ ** _ beyond belief. _

_ Jade could barely sit up on her scraped knees, unable to keep her eyes off of the moon above. They now knew what Gideoni really wanted to do, all of it, and that’s why they were caught up in it. She couldn’t believe it. She didn’t want to believe it. _

_ She called out… _

**But nobody came.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter gets real. I mean, how can it not after that cliffy?


	23. The Multiverse Theory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I should think that the title explains all.
> 
> WARNING: This chapter contains a... disturbing scene within the dreams. Read with caution because they're very important but at the same time, your mental health is important!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, fuck.

_ Jade didn’t want to open her eyes, but when a hand rested on her shoulder, she was forced to do so to make sure that she wasn’t going to suddenly end up dead. Upon doing so, she saw a human that she didn’t recognize, causing her to pull away in fear, but he shushed her. He was a little shorter than average and slightly underweight with short, wavy, medium-brown hair, a medium, solid build and flushed light-olive skin. He had an oval face with both ear lobes pierced and filled with small gauges, a high forehead, thin eyebrows, a snub nose, firm lips, and small, light brown eyes. _

_ She didn’t know how to feel because the battlefield had gone silent, which only unnerved her much more. _

_ “Gosh, I’m glad you’re alright.” He let out with a sigh of relief and she placed her hand on her forehead, looking around for her friends. “I’m Caelum and I’m on your side, and that’s all you need to know, right?” She paused before nodding and allowing him to help her to her feet, and help her look about. _

_ Eventually, Jade turned around and saw Crimson in the distance, just standing there with his head down. Instead of listening to her instincts that told her  _ **_not_ ** _ to go towards him, she made a running start to her best friend, calling his name and not even hesitating to hug him when she got close enough. However, upon hearing Jemimah call her name from another direction, she took a step back from Crimson and turned back around to see that Jemimah had joined Caelum’s side, but he older sister was rushing forward with a look of pure shock and… fear? _

_ Jade immediately turned around when she saw fear on Jemimah’s face, but was suddenly pushed by Crimson, who held up a different magic weapon from his own to strike her. Caelum somehow managed to make it just in time to clash his own weapon against Crimson’s, in which the boy stepped back while Caelum and Jemimah remained in front of Jade, defending her. _

_ “That’s not Crimson!” Jemimah told Jade, who was still in shock over nearly everything, and the older girl ran her eyes down to examine Crimson’s weapon:  _ **_Purpura Clavis_ ** _. _

_ “Correct.” Crimson spoke up, but it wasn’t his voice, and Jade raised her paws to cover her gaping mouth, her eyes going wide with realization. Ryker and Crimson had fought… and Crimson had lost. “I am not Crimson. His SOUL had become a part of mine now.” He held up Purpura Clavis. “Purpura Clavis will open the door and guide her here; the Angelus Tenebris! Warriors will flock here from each every world, each and every timeline, to battle for her darkness to “save the light”, and just like the legend says, the Clavis War will begin!” _

_ “ _ **_Shut up_ ** _!” Jemimah yelled, summoning her magic weapon once more. “I am sick of your nonsense! Give Crimson his SOUL back!” _

_ Caelum and Jemimah suddenly teamed up to fight Ryker, and Jade’s heart sunk as she realized just how useless she was. All she could do was sit and watch as her best friend was taken away and fought her older sister with some stranger who appeared out of nowhere to help. Ryker was very hard to fight, his attacks harsh and merciless, and that’s when Jade registered just how far gone Crimson most likely was. The three weapons collided before finally, the Purpura Clavis flying out of Ryker’s hands and into the air where it started to break off, many lights starting to bounce all over the place. _

_ “No, it’s gone haywire!” Caelum yelled, trying to shield Jemimah’s stomach to protect her child, but as Crimson fell to the ground unconscious, Jade rushed forward and got caught up in the fray. She held her best friend down, not daring to move because she didn’t know what would happen otherwise, and once the Purpura Clavis had broken, Caelum and Jemimah joined her side. _

_ “Don’t worry… he’ll be okay.” Jemimah tried to assure her younger sister, not bothering to try and comfort her because they were all messed up right now, as well as Iolanthe and Azul being trapped somewhere in the Graveyard. _

_ “Nothing fails to destroy you girls.” _

_ They all swung around to meet the gaze of Gideoni, in which Jemimah refused to let him even look at her little sister and the unconscious boy behind her for any longer than a second. Caelum got down on one knee, holding onto Jade’s shoulder and dismissing his weapon just in case he needed to grab her and Crimson to run. _

_ “Nothing will stop her from dying.” Gideoni insisted, although that confused all of them an awful lot, but he suddenly summoned his weapon and threw it with accurate precision… _

_ Straight through Jemimah unexpectedly, causing a moment of shock before the girl screamed out in agony. The pina was indescribable as it pierced her stomach, almost able to feel the weapon going right through her poor, defenseless child.  _ **_Her_ ** _. It had been a girl, just like Jade thought, but now it was nothing and it cracked Jade’s heart. _

_ “ _ **_Jemimah_ ** _!” She screamed, lifting her paws as if to cover her eyes, but she had already seen the damage. She had already been scarred. _

_ “ _ **_NO_ ** _!” Caelum yelled, rushing forward to the older girl in a panic. _

_ Jade couldn’t look away. There was blood everywhere, so much coming out of Jemimah’s lower body while she continued to scream and cry, and then Jade suddenly felt the blood pool out to touch her knees. Her little-scraped knees that had gotten so much use today because she hadn’t done anything to help. She didn’t fight, she didn’t protect her friends or her sister… or her niece… _

_ And something snapped. As the dark red blood oozed past her knees, each drop soaking into her gray fur, something twitched in her SOUL that pulled her onto her unsteady feet and made her swell up with a feeling different from grief. It wasn’t entirely dark and it wasn’t entirely pure, but it was there… and so was a weapon made of magic powerful beyond belief. _

_ A simple bow, firing a simple arrow, and pulling something honest from someone previously as innocent as they came. _

 

* * *

_ Jemimah’s icy blue eyes opened and she blinked once. Twice. She forced herself to sit up, albeit she let out a loud groan that attracted the attention of those in the room. _

_ “Where… am I?” She questioned before feeling her stomach, looking down to see it wrapped in thick bandages. There was still some pain emitting from it. _

_ “Jemimah.” Caelum spoke up, bringing her attention to him. _

_ Behind him, a wise old man remained seated in a chair with his back to her, but she had too many questions to care all too much. She was able to see Jade sitting off to the side, although her younger sister had her knees hugged to her chest and wouldn’t look up, Jemimah could see the tears making their way down Jade’s round cheeks. _

_ “What happened?” She questioned curiously, and everyone hesitated. She caught sight of something on Jade’s paws and her eyes widened upon realizing that it was blood, clasped in her… her fingers were callused now. Her paws had been so smooth and pristine before, but now they appeared as if she worked in a hospital and played guitar aggressively. _

_ “I’m… so sorry, Jemimah.” Caelum apologized, seeming to continue hesitating as she looked down at her stomach, placing a hand on it. He paused and then reached out, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, squeezing it tightly. “You… lost your child.” _

_ Jemimah’s heart cracked, tears falling down her cheeks as she hesitated, but then shook her head. She didn’t believe it… she wouldn’t believe it… no, her daughter was alright, wasn’t she? This was just some cruel joke! However, upon hearing Jade breaking down into sobs, Jemimah knew that this was in fact real. She had lost her child, all because of Gideoni… and she was  _ **_furious_ ** _ beyond her sadness. _

_ “Crimson appears to be in some sort of coma… it’s like his SOUL left his body, but should it return, he may very well wake up.” Caelum explained, even though Jemimah was only partially listening. “There was no sign of Azul or Iolanthe… and if Crimson’s SOUL doesn’t return, he might as well sleep for all eternity.” _

_ “... That won’t happen. I won’t believe it.” Jemimah insisted, the tone of her voice insisting how angry she was. “I’ll keep him safe until he wakes up, even if that means forever.” _

_ “I will tell you that what your friend needs right now is not your protection.” The wise old man suddenly spoke up, and Jemimah thought of his name right away. Every apprentice of any Master knew of the great, wise Master Adlux. “He needs you to believe. You see, Crimson’s SOUL hand in the balance, sleeping in a place between the light and darkness. From all I can perceive, that means he will be looking for a friend; one who believes in him, to show him the way home.” Jemimah held a hand over her SOUL. “As long as you love him, then Crimson will be able to find his way home to the realm of light.” _

_ There was a pause, and then Jade suddenly spoke her, her voice a bit crackly from the crying. _

_ “I will always believe in Crimson.” She stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “He will have more than one light to follow home. He is good.” _

_ “Jade.” Jemimah addressed her younger sister, and her ears twitched in acknowledgment. “I’ll go search for Azul and Iolanthe. I think I know how to find them.” Jade hummed in acceptance. “I want you to take Crimson somewhere safe. I know you can do it.” _

_ Jade paused before looking up at her older sister, who merely nodded in great belief towards the young girl, and Jade nodded in response, getting to her feet. With a bit of help, she managed to pull Crimson onto her back and gave one last look back to the three before leaving with her best friend, carrying him outside. Before she could do anything, Crimson had unconsciously summoned his weapon and raised it, opening a portal of light to where he wanted to go, and Jade couldn’t help but smile fondly. _

_ She didn’t disagree, walking through the portal only to appear in front of the Master’s castle, but it was destroyed and in awful condition, which made her frown. It was so dark, but she walked into the caste anyways and took a look around, managing to make her way to the throne room. Placing Crimson down on one of the thrones, she took a couple of steps back and took a deep breath, remembering what the Master had told Iolanthe. She wasn’t supposed to be listening, but she was a kid. She couldn’t help it. _

_ “ _ There’s a secret you must know. Should anything happen to me and you find darkness on our doorstep, I ask that you use your SOUL to lock this world away. Generations of us have been charged with keeping this land safe. Light and darkness exist in balance here and there are those who would abuse such grounds. This is why our predecessors devised a certain trick _.” _

_ Jade let out the breath slowly, pulling her SOUL from her chest and staring down at the small, weakened thing. It was a simple white, but it was very bright and it made her feel warm in the chill of the darkness. _

_ “ _ Just use your SOUL and this land will be transformed From that day forth, none who visit this land will ever be able to solve its mysteries. Unfortunately… that means falling into darkness because you will weaken your SOUL, but with the mark, I’m sure you can do it _.” _

_ Even without the mark, Jade had to try. Iolanthe wasn’t here to do it and Master Everett was gone. With a bright light, she focused her magic on doing the right thing, which was often a good thing and a good way to succeed. When her SOUL disappeared, she felt exceptionally weak, but she had been able to do it. The room was a bright white and held a tall, single throne which Crimson sat in, but even with the bright surroundings, Jade could tell that they were both stuck in a dark realm. In realms of darkness, time moved slow, so she had no idea what time it would be when they returned. _

_ “... I know it is a lonely place, but I am here.” Jade told Crimson with the best smile she could manage, placing her hand on his head before leaning forward to kiss his forehead gently. “Just hold on a second while I do something for us, okay?” _

_ Crimson didn’t respond, but Jade reached around his neck before pulling back and heading outside the new castle anyways. It was so dark… but she needed to mess up Gideoni’s plans somehow. She didn’t know how else to do it besides pretty much sending her and Crimson’s power away in the form of stupid little necklaces they had simply bought in the marketplace many years ago. She had a feeling that this timeline would eventually disappear or get messed up so badly that it would be as if this time, these troubles, didn’t exist, so she focused on a different one. She managed to find a timeline where everything was going as it should and would continue going as it must unless something big happened, and she decided to bet on that one. _

_ With one silver key on a silver chain and one crimson-colored key on a bronze chain, both of the same design, she engulfed them in her magic and sent them off to the timeline where they all grew up just fine. Where she and Crimson… had daughters and even grandchildren, but their keys would be going to a pair of very important granddaughters of theirs. _

_ In that timeline, the Konno’s and the Edeline’s were connected much deeper than in this one. _

 

* * *

Fate woke up in the void with a start, her eyes going wide as she quickly got to her feet, looking around frantically for Gaster. In the distance, she finally saw him appear, running to him with panicked breathing and tears in her eyes. He knew something was wrong before he could hear or see it, and he knelt down to the young girl could run into his arms. She hugged him tightly and he pulled her into his lap, returning the hug as she sobbed, her breathing erratically although not bad enough to cause any sort of attack.

And when she stopped crying, he didn’t speak. He allowed her to pull away and talk about it.

“I-I knew something was familiar, but I wasn’t sure what and now I just feel so awful.” She started, and he rubbed her back to comfort her the best he could. Clutching at her necklace, Fate felt like curling up into a ball and just disappearing from the void, and the world, entirely. “Jade Konno, that’s my Grandmother, and… and Crimson Edeline, my God, I kind of know my Grandfather now.” Gaster chuckled softly at her tone. “Olivia is my cousin and she… I-I just…”

“Slow down.” Gaster advised, in which Fate did so, and then he motioned for her to take a deep breath, which she also did. “Now… start from the beginning of the story.”

Fate did just that.

“Once upon a time, before the war of humans and monsters…” Fate started quite cheesily.

Gaster didn’t comment on it. She needed to talk about it and he wasn’t about to push her down on her family oddities. Hell, he was still goopy from being scattered across time and space, and if that wasn’t an oddity, he didn’t know what was.

“There was an imbalance between light and darkness. Way,  **way** back, when there were only one world and one timeline, humans and monsters had ready access to a mythical source of wisdom, light, and life. One guardian was chosen to look over it and they called her the  _ Angelus Tenebris _ . Things went… seriously wrong as people started fighting over the source of life, creating magic weapons in the image of an almighty weapon called the  _ Purpuras Clavis _ , and fought a war so bleak and awful that Disney would never approve of it. By the war’s end, the  _ Purpuras Clavis _ was shattered and the mythical source was plunged into darkness, being hidden away from everyone. The world and timeline split into many different parts, but with the light inside the hearts of children, they were able to become stable.”

Gaster nodded along, already knowing a good underlining of the story, but Fate had found so many details that interested him. The way she described it was… less than scientific, but she was young and had just been slammed into with a lot of knowledge, so he didn’t mind.

“Fast forward plenty of years and you have this life as we know it, broken into a variety of universes and timelines. At this point, some folks at still looking for a way to bring back to  _ Angelus Tenebris _ because she disappeared with the light and life she was guarding, and the most ambitious amongst them was a man… some dumb Master named Gideoni.” She explained, and Gaster continued nodding along, allowing Fate to mess with one of his hands so she could focus better. “He decided to pick up where the war left off and build the  _ Purpura Clavis _ for himself, and a boy named Crimson… my Grandfather, although that’s hella weird because I’m so young but this was another timeline… got caught up in the fray. His SOUL was messed with and a being named Ryker was born, a pure darkness, while Crimson was pure of light all of the sudden. Crimson was sent to become an apprentice under another Master named Everett so he would be good enough to fight Ryker equally, but Everett had other apprentices.”

“Gideoni tried to clash light and darkness immaturely.” Gaster sighed, having a bitter taste in his mouth as Fate nodded, but went quiet as she continued.

“Everett Romeron Questevernan now had five apprentices: Iolanthe Gwynne Shiro, Azul Colaith Evitt, Jemimah Aislinn Konno, Jade Emrys Phoenix Konno, and Crimson Micharlos Edeline.” Fate listed, and Gaster remembered some of Fate’s friends that she had mentioned, such as Ruri Shiro, Rory Evitt, and of course, her new-found cousin Olivia Edeline. “Together, they trained to get their marks to become Masters, but Jemimah left to go back home and take care of her Mother and Mother-In-Law--my Great Grandmothers--and only Iolanthe got her mark. Azul failed after he was deemed to have too much darkness in his heart. But Gideoni meddled with things and they were all split up.”

There was a long pause and then Fate took a deep breath, continuing. She was so tired, it was quite obvious, but she wouldn’t be able to sleep right until she at least talked about it.

“Gideoni pulled Azul into his claws, tricking him into doing evil things and causing him to doubt his own intentions but it only made him more susceptible to manipulation. Crimson had gotten all the training he needed to become as strong as Ryker, though, and Gideoni successfully combined their SOULs into the  _ Purpura Clavis _ for awhile, just long enough to use it against Azul and Iolanthe. A boy named Caelum appeared to help Crimson, Jade, and Jemimah, who was pregnant but still fighting despite. Jemimah, however, lost her child because Gideoni purposefully killed… my unborn Great Aunt.”

Gaster rubbed her back again, and she appreciated the gesture even if it didn’t help too much.

“Iolanthe was lost to the darkness alongside Azul after they fought, Jemimah was lost in a realm of darkness until she passed, and my Grandparents ended up in the Master’s Castle, but it was transformed by Jade and ended up in a different realm of darkness. With Crimson in a comatose state, Jade took their necklaces--” Fate once again clutched at her necklace, lowering her head. “--and found our timeline, sending important keys across timelines without even knowing it. Her magic was so powerful and because of the timeline traveling, things happened, and I j-just…”

Fate stopped, taking another deep breath, and Gaster patted her head gently, which she relaxed into. After a long while of silence, Fate spoke up one more, finally able to get past her emotions.

“It’s a prophecy, Gaster, and it’s stupid. I hate it.” She told him, and he couldn’t help but chuckle a bit, shaking his head. Prophecies were indeed stupid, but they were prophecies for a good reason.

“You can tell me about your worries if it will help.” He insisted, and she went silent again, only for a moment.

“...  _ Upon the day the sun turns dark and stars fall from the sky, it shall bring a world of darkness. Once one becomes nine and nine become one, one shall bring forth an era of light from another. _ ” Fate spoke, and Gaster clued in quite quickly that she had just told him the prophecy. Nonetheless, she continued in Latin. “ _ De clavium Rubra Paelex Idonea transmittitur. Parva in unum, a puero et arcanum praeteritum. Falcis temptanda, sed non ad puerum quis sciat. Quod Lux Angelorum, quod est esse nisi unam split in duo. Sardius et smaragdo eiusmodi uel par impar spatium. Locus sapphyri lapides eius parva cum magno animo puella et aequo animo ferret. Pro libertate pugnare adversus exercitum eius et Angelus tenebrarum. _ ”

Gaster paused, going silent from how unsure he suddenly was, but then hugged Fate gently, in which she gladly returned to show of affection and attempt at comfort. Placing a hand on the back of her head like he would whenever his sons would have nightmares, he merely held her and let out a whisper that made her feel a little more confident.

“ **Fidem tibi habeo** .”

It made her smile fondly, giving a gentle nod as he pulled away, pulling her attention to his hand that was starting to sign something into the dark void. Before long, a window appeared, much to her confusion, but Gaster quickly spoke up.

“Would you like to know more about the timelines?” He questioned and without missing a beat, Fate gave a frantic nod. She might as well if they were so important. Upon opening the window, Gaster created a kind of… a brainstorming-like graph to show multiple other universes and while Fate was utterly confused, she was also very interested. “Every choice inside a universe splits it, creating two separate universes. They exist directly in what we call the “Multiverse”. It’s like a larger void full of different universes, drifting around as if they were moons orbiting a planet…”

As Gaster continued, Fate only got more intrigued and her confusion slowly unraveled into understanding, even if it took awhile to do so. It was a little hard to keep up, but she managed to do so by asking Gaster simple questions to help her mind catch up before he continued on. By the end of his explanation, her mindset had nearly changed, so overwhelmed with the new information explaining just how much of an ant she really was in life and Gaster was worried about her well-being for a moment.

“You needn’t worry, young one. It’s not as if you’ll ever leave this universe.” He insisted, patting her head gently. “Travelling universes is an odd thing and a very hard thing to do, so I doubt that you’ll end up away from this one in your entire life.”

There was a pause before Fate nodded in agreement, trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. All of the new information she gathered had just exhausted her, so sleep was now a very important thing to get before she was woken up in the morning. Gaster didn’t mind, rubbing her back and saying his goodbye as she left the void her mind had created to rest, in which he followed after a moment of guilt.

One did not just dream of alternate timelines and universes for no reason. Something was going on, but he just wasn’t sure what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I repeat:  
> Well, fuck.  
> Even Gaster doesn't know what's going on.
> 
> I'm not just writing about this for the kick of it, y'all. Buckle in for the rest of this arc because it's gonna be a ride.
> 
> P.S. -  
> "Fidem tibi habeo" means "I believe in you" in Latin.  
> I'm not telling you about the rest of the dumbass prophecy yet, though, lmao


	24. Nothing Is As It Seems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for some kiddos to graduate.
> 
> Also, Fate is given the scare of a lifetime with Flowey and Toby present.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to end the arc here because much will happen in the next one! The arcs have been short thus far, but I plan for them to get much longer!

8:34 A.M., June 15th, 20YY

Toriel tied the laces on Fate’s little black boots into neat bows. She wore a sleeveless, winter white dress that dropped down to just below her knees with a black ribbon around the collar--also neatly tied into a bow by Toriel--a black, slim fit blazer, white, lace-trimmed ankle socks with ribbon bow details, and a pair of small black boots.

“Done.” Toriel announced, and Fate jumped off the couch. Upon silent motions from Chara, she did a full twirl to show off her outfit, in which Frisk clapped happily over despite it nearly moving Toriel to tears.

“Okay, okay, let’s go before Mom has an emotional breakdown.” Chara joked upon noticing their Mother getting a little emotional, and Fate held up a paw to stop them before quickly running upstairs. She came back down with Flowey, Toby, and of course: her straw hat. No one minded, simply grabbing the last few things they would need before heading out.

With a deep breath, Fate rushed after her siblings, very  **determined** to graduate from elementary school with the others in her grade from both Willow Creek and Skyline.

 

* * *

“Is this really necessary?”

Adianna huffed, quite ready to back-hand her twin brother, but nonetheless nodded. Shavon only groaned in response as she buttoned up his dark gray and white vest that went over his long-sleeved, white dress shirt. He was happy that she was letting him get away with a pair of black jeans and his black running shoes.

“What kind of “students” would we be if we didn’t go to our elementary graduation?” Adianna questioned as she turned away, pulling her hair to the side so it wouldn’t get caught as Shavon did up the zipper for her coast blue dress that ended just above her knees.

“Let me guess--” He sighed as he zipped it up, placing his hands on her shoulders and leaning forward a bit, his tone dropping. “--suspicious ones?”

Staring down at her heels that were barely above a couple of inches as she fixed her hair, Adianna nodded and pulled away from her twin brother. Neither of them would enjoy the attention, but they had to blend in or so help their SOULs. Nonetheless, as she buttoned up Shavon’s dress shirt properly instead of having the top button undone, she gave as pleasant of a smile as she could.

“Don’t tell me you don’t want to go when you obviously do.” She teased, grabbing a light blue cardigan that matched her heels as she headed towards the door. “I know that you’re getting attached to her when you’re supposed to be as poisonous as I am.”

Shavon huffed, pausing for a moment before following after her. Even if she was right--in which she totally wasn’t because he absolutely was  **not** getting attached and she was entirely insane--she had her attachments as well, and they affected her just as much as his attachments affected him.

Either way, it sucked ass.

 

* * *

 

 

Aaron finished buttoning up his Topman casual, short-sleeved shirt that was over his long-sleeved, white dress shirt before slipping on his black running shoes over his white, cotton socks. He wiped his sweaty paws on his light brown, or they could’ve been dark beige, jeans that were held up with a brown belt before taking a look at his water-resistant watch that Krystal had somehow managed to get him for a New Year's present.

It was quarter to nine. He wasn’t sure whether he was going to throw up or pass out.

Nonetheless, he went downstairs to where Krystal was waiting, barely dressed up in her usual clothing, but she was wearing a skirt instead of jeans to make the slightest difference. He honestly appreciated it, even if he could see the cigarette pack sticking out of her waistband, and she looked up at him while he came down the stairs.

“Everything ready?” She questioned softly, and Aaron gave a nervous nod, gladly taking his older sister’s outstretched hand. He didn’t even bother to ask about their Father because he already knew that the damned man didn’t care about either of his children. “Alright, let’s go.”

 

* * *

Ruri patiently sat at the bottom of the stairs in her family’s house, waiting for the rest of her family to get ready. She wore a light silverish gray, back zipper dress that went down to her knees, a dull blue, sequined blazer, and a pair of flats that matched the color of her blazer, but had silverish gray bows on them to match her dress.

Caleb sat on the other side of the step to wait as well, albeit much less patiently than she was being while he tapped away on his cell phone. He wore a bright blue, button-down collar shirt, a pair of black suit pants, and a pair of white running shoes with bright blue stripes down the middles of them.

Ezekiel than stepped onto the step between them with a bright, pleasant smile. He was usually the only one in their family who could pull off such a thing unless their Mother was in a nice mood.

“It’s time to get in the car.” He told them, in which Caleb immediately got up and rushed off while Ruri took her sweet time in following behind him to go and sit in the car

Zeke blinked a few times before letting out a fond sigh and following after them, shaking his head with a chuckle. They may have been twins, but they were very different.

 

* * *

Jonah sat on a bench by the pond of Ebott’s main park, feeding seeds to the ducks that either swam past or walked up to him. Since the ceremony didn’t start for another half an hour, that was how he was spending his time, even as James showed up to take a seat next to him.

Jonah wore a long-sleeved, dark green button down shirt with a silk black tie, a pair of black Topman, zip off pants, a pair of black high-tops, and he had his wallet in his back pocket that had a chain, which clipped onto one of his jean-loops to avoid being stolen. James wore a very dark green, almost black, long-sleeved, french cuff dress shirt that had the top button undone, a pair of beige, slim fit jeans, and a pair of black running shoes.

However, before too long of them sitting in silence, Sean had suddenly appeared behind the bench and scared Jonah by blowing on the back poor boy’s neck. The cold breath on a warm summer’s day made him scream and jump up, scaring off plenty of the ducks from around them. Sean had apologized for scaring him so bad with the excuse that he hadn’t thought Jonah would get so scared, and despite the crappy apology, Jonah had forgiven him, offering him a seat on the large bench.

Sean wore a buttoned-up, sleeveless black vest overtop of a long-sleeved, white dress shirt with a black and white striped tie, a pair of baggy blue jeans, and a simple pair of black and white athletic high-tops.

After a while of the three boys sitting around, chatting, and feeding seeds to the brave ducks that returned after Sean’s scare, a voice in the distance over a microphone suddenly spoke up, and Sean mentioned that it was so loud because it was ringing out through plenty of speakers.

_ “Attention, park patrons, the Willow Creek and Skyline graduation ceremony will begin in exactly eight minutes. All graduates, please make your way to the middle of the park at this time. Thank you for your attention.” _

The boys went silent as they stood up, making their way back to where they came from with bubbling anxiety because, after today, they would be high-schoolers.

That was a terrifying thought.

 

* * *

9:30 A.M., June 15th, 20YY

Mrs. Thelma Egbert from Skyline Elementary stepped up to the microphone with a posture that just screamed strict, looking out at all of the families. Thelma was very short and of average weight with a soft, tending to round build and wrinkled, light-olive skin. She had a long face with a lined forehead, round cheeks, dark eyebrows, a short nose, curled-up lips, and a pair of milky, wide-set eyes. Her hair was thin and bleached blonde, going down to her elbows, and she had multiple ear piercings that were obvious despite kind of blending in with the color of her hair.

The graduating students from Willow Creek and Skyline were seated up front in alphabetical order and after a moment, she cleared her throat and began to speak.

“Parents, teachers, other assorted family members, and friends… I am Thelma Egbert, the principal of Skyline Elementary, and today is a day of transition. Today, a group of around ninety-five children are about to take one step closer to their futures. Ladies and gentlemen--” She paused, adjusting her glasses as she took another breath. “--those of multiple genders or none, us of Willow Creek and Skyline present to you the graduating class of 20YY.”

Applause and cheers rang out, some screaming while others didn’t make any sound at all, and the ceremony started soon after Thelma stopped speaking, albeit she had to read names out to call up the graduating students. Fate had leaned over to Aaron who was sitting beside her to ask some questions, in which he answered the best he could in his anxious state, and in return, she held his hand while others went up to the makeshift stage. They pretty much talked except for when people they knew, or kind of knew, or simply took interest in, went up.

“Alexander Wren Barzillai, Skyline Elementary.”

Cheers and applause rang out as a boy who was taller than average, of average weight, and of a medium, solid build walked up to the makeshift stage to receive his diploma. He had smooth, light-pale skin and an oval face with a lined forehead, bushy eyebrows, a small nose, curled-up lips, and blue-green, large eyes, while his hair was short, curly, and a medium-brown color.

“Quentin Demetrius Barzillai, Skyline Elementary.”

More cheers and applause erupted from the crowd, although some people seemed to be trying too hard for the boy who was of average height, weight, and build for a twelve-year-old boy.

“Amber Rachel Cameron, Willow Creek Elementary.”

Amber anxiously walked up to the makeshift stage, wearing a mango pink blazer, a dark blue lace insert dress, and a pair of mango pink flats, and she curtseyed with a deep breath as she accepted her diploma. That took a lot of bravery from her, but at least she was smiling. He bared resemblance to Alexander, who was obviously his twin brother at this point but was also different with his square face, high forehead, and a hooked nose. His hair was also straight, although still short, and looked quite thin.

“Fate Casmyr Dreemurr, Willow Creek Elementary.”

Fate had freaked out a bit, quickly getting to her feet and heading up to he makeshift stage despite her anxiety screaming like she was standing in the middle of a main road. To her surprise, there was wild applause and cheering, bringing her to bow politely for the audience despite her not knowing many of them. Perhaps they knew the Dreemurr’s and merely assumed? She didn’t really know.

“Aaron Marland Eve, Willow Creek Elementary.”

There was more cheering as the anxious boy went up, quickly rushing back to calm his anxiety. Krystal was easy to find in the crowd considering that she had stood on her chair and started scream-cheering for her younger brother.

“Jonah Rhian Greene, Skyline Elementary.”

There was polite applause as Jonah walked up to get his diploma.

“Keisha Palmira Hofer, Willow Creek Elementary.”

Keisha walked up to the makeshift stage as if she was some sort of model on a runway. She was wearing a Stella McCartney flower dress that was a bright pink color and stopped just above her knees, showing off some of her thighs, a pair of black, Christian Louboutin leather boots, along with a bangle bracelet and a charm necklace that were obviously expensive. At least her makeup was presentable and her hair was done up nicely.

“Fiona Karianne Novara, Skyline Elementary.”

Applause ensued, some of it once again a bit try-hard, as Fiona walked up to the makeshift stage to receive her diploma in a yellow Giamba dress with a black bow from the frilly collar, a pair of black, open-toe flats, and a Laron Jennings quartz movement watch.

“James Bryland Owen, Skyline Elementary.”

There was applause as James walked up to the makeshift stage, although it was quite varied. He was an odd one if a number of students whispering about him while some others started chanting his name like a team cheer wasn’t enough proof. He was quite known to have been in multiple places at the same time, even by his best friends.

“Adianna Jaylah Rovatta, Willow Creek Elementary.”

Applause, plus a few cheers, rang out as Adianna stood up from her seat. Many simply gave polite applause, while some in the audience started to whisper about different things. Such as if they knew the Rovatta’s or not and if they were a rich family despite Adianna and Shavon going to Willow Creek, and there were many looking around to see if they could spot the parents of the two. No questions were answered, however.

“Shavon Garwin Rovatta, Willow Creek Elementary.”

Many students chuckled over his middle name and the whispers only continued along with the looks, but everyone was starting to give up. This was Ebott, after all. The Rovatta’s could’ve been orphans or their family could’ve just been keeping on the low for whatever reason.

“Caleb Olivero Shiro, Skyline Elementary.”

There was more applause as Caleb went up to receive his diploma, merely returning to his seat without much of anything, not even an amused smile.

“Rurian Sonya Shiro, Skyline Elementary.”

With bright pink spreading across her cheeks from the use of her full name, Ruri quickly stood up and walked over to the makeshift stage, smiling politely before quickly returning to her seat. Many of her classmates around her gave her a pat on the back or a thumbs up, albeit some of them were still laughing and making fun of her full name.

“Jaylynne Diamante Sollers, Willow Creek Elementary.”

Many students let out sounds of awe over Jaylynne’s middle name while she made her way up to the makeshift stage. She wore a baby blue, flutter-sleeve dress with matching open-toe sandals, and her hair was pulled up into a tight, braided bun. Her makeup complimented her look, which made her seem like a very peaceful young girl who didn’t have an odd, rich best friend.

“Sean Vergilius Speed, Skyline Elementary.”

Many students burst into laughter over Sean’s middle name, but he couldn’t care less as he stood up and went to receive his diploma. He gave a bright grin and a pair of finger-guns to the audience before returning to his seat, although Carson and Liam were easily pinpointed through the crowd of people because they were whooping loudly for their best friend.

“Everyone, the graduating class of 20YY!”

Cheers rang out unlike any of the children had heard before, filling them all with  **determination** for the new school year to come.

 

* * *

Fate sat on a bench, splitting her plate in three for her, Flowey, and Toby, when someone suddenly leaned over the back of the bench, interested in what she was doing.

“Good evening, Fate.” Shavon greeted with a smile, and Fate fed Flowey a piece of a cookie to keep him quiet. She didn’t usually talk to Shavon, but she had a feeling that he was much different from his twin sister.

“Hello.” She responded simply, smiling politely towards the slightly younger boy, and he looked down at Toby. She could’ve sworn that a flash of recognition crossed his expression, but he looked back at her with the same smile nonetheless.

“Where’s your family? Don’t you worry about being away from them with everything that goes on in Ebott?” He questioned curiously, although she could’ve worn there was some kind of undertone to his voice, as she held out some plain cookie bits to Toby, who happily ate them, and she let out a sigh, shrugging a bit.

“They’re around here somewhere.” She replied, pushing the plate closer to Flowey so he could just eat instead of saying something he shouldn’t. “I do worry since they’re my family and all, but they’re strong enough to take care of themselves, much like I am. Plus, I’ve got Flowey and Toby with me if something goes wrong, and this is a big event. I doubt anyone would try anything.”

She actually wasn’t too sure but said it anyways so Shavon wouldn’t dig deeper into it. After a moment of silence, Shavon straightened himself up from leaning on the bench and shrugged, turning as if he was going to leave despite pausing in his movement.

“Just take care of yourself. You never know what could happen.” He insisted, and the tone of his voice made both her and Flowey look up. She was simply confused while Flowey was glaring, not amused by how threatening it sounded even if it wasn’t meant to be that way. “After all, no one knows what  **really** happened behind the death of Brittany McVaugh or Cliff Morris, or even Justine Gibson over in Arrowebott. Hell, even behind the death of Morgan Powell…”

There was a pause before Fate lowered her head, breathing in sharply.

“... What are you trying to say?” She questioned, trying her best not to sound as strangled as she felt, and Shavon finally turned away, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he spoke.

“There’s a lot none of us know…” Shavon trailed off, glancing back momentarily before starting to walk away. When he spoke again, he said something he definitely shouldn’t have known. “... especially not descendants much like you, Ms. Konno.”

Her head snapped up, but Shavon was somehow already gone despite the crowds being far from the bench. She looked at Flowey for an explanation of where he went, but his shocked expression showed that he didn’t know any more than she did. Upon looking back out at the crowds consisting of many Ebott citizens, Fate couldn’t help but shake from the fear Shavon had left her feeling, swallowing thickly as she spotted her family and many of her friends in the distance. 

The Rovatta twins knew things they shouldn’t have. It scared her beyond belief, leaving her in the dust because she didn’t understand any of it, and not understanding made the fear even stronger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy, guess what time it is? Since high school is pulling up in awhile, I've decided to hold another OC contest! If you've entered an OC before, feel free to do so again, and if you're new, jump right in! DON'T BE A GHOST READER!!!  
> The form is below for all of you if you wish to enter, and I'll be announcing the winners in some chapters before we get into high school!  
> Either way, have fun! Comment below on your thoughts and your OC entries! Go nuts, enjoy yourselves! I love each and every one of you!!
> 
> ~
> 
> Full Name [First, Middle(s), Last]:  
> Nickname(s):  
> Alias(es):  
> Age [Between 13 & 18]:  
> Species [Human, Monster, No Main-sonas]  
> SOUL Color [of the main 8]:  
> Birthday [Month, Day]:  
> Sex [Biological]:  
> Gender [What they identify as]:  
> Sexual/Romantic Orientation(s):
> 
> Personality Traits [Three Positive, Three Neutral, Three Negative]:  
> Likes [Min. Three]:  
> Dislikes [Min. Three]:  
> Fears/Phobias:
> 
> Hair Color(s) [Dyed or not]:  
> Fur Color(s) [Dyed or not]:  
> Eye Color(s):  
> Skin Color(s):  
> Height:  
> Weight:  
> Scars/Distinguishing Marks:  
> Any physical disabilities/diseases/ailments:  
> Any medications/treatments:  
> Anything else?:
> 
> Relationship Status [if dating, please leave some info on their significant other(s)]:  
> Family [please leave a bit about each family member like their relationship with your character, age, sex/gender, job if any, etc.]:
> 
> Which Elementary School did they attend [Skyline, Willow Creek, or just put “Out of Country” if they’re new!]:  
> Any Job(s):  
> Any Backstory that I should know of?:


	25. Wowie, Summer Vacation!!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A very good boy returns from his trip, a date is had, and summer vacation officially starts. Kids are hanging out, families are going to the mall, and unexpected friendships are made.
> 
> Also, Fate finally has time to write now that vacation is happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a bit to write, sorry 'bout that.

5:43 A.M., July 15th, 20YY

The last time Fate had seen Destiny, she had to get picked up from the airport for causing such a ruckus before a flight. She had wanted to take his hand and make him stay, but they had to follow the rules.

That day, with the breeze as cold as a summer morning could be, she stood outside the airport and waited patiently. If she went inside, security might’ve been on high alert, but she could’ve sworn that this morning was the coldest simply because she chose to wait outside. Any longer and Destiny would return to a summer popsicle, cold yet melting into a mess, albeit she was basically like that either way. Before her alarm for six in the morning rang out, a pair came out of the airport, one of them looking ready to kill anyone who didn’t do as he said and the more familiar one looking around for someone.

That someone happened to be her as hazel green and sapphire blue met from more than ten feet apart but didn’t turn away. She almost drowned in his grin as he said something to his Father, how didn’t seem to listen, before quickly rushing over to her and wrapping her in a hug that she gladly returned. His hugs could never be long enough, cocooning her better than any butterfly-to-be with a gentle squeeze that gave off his warmth and the smell of warm milk and honey. It hadn’t gone away, even after three months, and they barely pulled away from each other when he asked why she was here so early.

“You say that, but you were looking around for me.” She responded with a light laugh, in which he rolled his eyes and let out a “pfft” sound as if that wasn’t relevant. It only made her laugh more.

After another moment or so of simple chatter, Fate grabbed Destiny's paw in her own and started to walk, making him smile with how excited she was to spend the day together. She was excited even more because it was his birthday and honestly, he felt like someone special for once. His family didn’t celebrate birthdays because they were simply dates of birth, so the fact that Fate was willing to celebrate it made him quite happy. The lines on her paws caught his attention as they walked. They swirled like an unfinished drawing and although she was holding his hand, all he could take notice of otherwise were her red knuckles; wine-red blotches from the cold.

It made him feel kind of bad, but at the same time, he was more than happy to warm them up for her.

 

* * *

11:39 A.M., July 15th, 20YY

When they finally got around to an ice cream parlor, around noon or so although neither of them had expected to be walking that long and it caused a bit of laughter, Destiny and Fate stood with their paws spread over the chilled glass like dark sea stars. If there had been only a few choices, they would have picked one long ago, but the array put their minds into happy tingles of possibilities. There weren’t just all of the flavors, but all the possible combinations. It didn’t come cheap, he had pointed out, but Fate told him not to worry because it was his birthday and they were going to celebrate according to plan. She had enough money, she promised, and his head fell against the chilled glass as if it would help him choose.

After a few more moments, he turned to Fate with a sheepish look.

“I don’t know what to get.” He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck, and she gave him a patient smile because it was hard for her to choose as well.

“Well…” She started, trailing off before pointing towards one in the back. “Mint chocolate chip reminds me of us, kinda, so maybe we could try that?”

There was a pause before Destiny started nodding, his grin growing almost instantly in agreement. Fate had good ideas; that was one of the things he enjoyed about having her around. After they had gotten their ice cream, they simply went to sit down at one of the free tables, willing to chat amongst each other even more. Between the two of them, they took turns shoveling spoonfuls into their mouths and talking about everything that had happened while Destiny was away, both for him and for her. She didn’t mention the weird dreams or some certain things that happened during the graduation ceremony, but she talked about a lot of other things such as the theme park.

Eventually, they finished their ice cream and started to go for another long walk, which neither of them minded. In fact, they walked until the streetlights came on, which was when they finally made their way back to Maple Street. Maple Street happened to be the middle-ground between Fate’s block and Destiny’s block, so it felt right to end their time together for the day there. They left with a hug and some awkward laughter, heading in opposite directions to get back home.

It was only just the start of summer vacation anyways.

* * *

2:12 P.M., July 19th, 20YY

Mabels’ bakery was a galley of a shop. So much of the space had been taken up by the ovens and the mouth-watering displays that the customers were left to squeeze in and out. From the cracking chessboard tile that had been there since she took over, Mabel could only imagine how much older than her the store was, though she had painted the sign above the display window a lovely black and white nonetheless. The cakes beckoned customers in and the aroma of fresh-baked cookies and bread took her by the hand each time.

She had vowed to learn how to bake if it was the last thing she did when she was merely five, rushing along with every step over frosty stones, and she was beyond ecstatic to have her own bakery now that she was in her mid-twenties. So many good things had happened, but her favorite time of the day was when Roland would come to the bakery with his gang of friends every single day of summer vacation. They were always excited for muffins, so she purposely made time to make their favorite kind in one necessary batch, and they made Roland happy.

They made her happy as well. They were all such sweet kids and she honestly felt like the best kind of Grandmother despite her young age whenever they came about. Beside the bakery was a huge tree that they had all worked hard together to make into a grand treehouse, one that now served as a hangout space for the young group of kids.

But speaking of the kids, here they came. They all greeted her the same as always with a “Hello, Ms. Kasser” before she gave them their muffins and they went out the side door to their treehouse. Although, these days, a couple of them had begun whispering about when it was necessary to start calling her Mrs. Blanchard instead of Ms. Kasser, which always brought her attention down to the beautiful ring on her left hand. Her mind wandered too how Hamza was on his travels and when he would be back, but she didn’t worry too much. He always came back when she needed him most.

And the kids, well… they were the oddest little gang that could’ve possibly come together.

Most people knew that Maggie Rose, Melina Binchdt, and the Pickering twins had been hanging out since Kindergarten, but no one expected Maggie to get so interested in certain things, like her Mother’s line of business, that she could barely hang out with them anymore. From there, Chandler Rose had stepped in, pulling along Roland Blanchard who eventually became the group’s sort of “leader” by initiating Trent Young. After a while, Melina had suddenly pulled the ever-so-quiet-and-mysterious Ellena Asher into the mix and suddenly, the oddest group of kids to ever hang out had been formed.

The treehouse was their home, sweet home and they had become something like a family of little people. They even had code names that they only used during summer vacation, which was surprisingly Roland’s idea that he had carried out wonderfully for all of them. Roland was called Enigma, Chandler was called Shadow, Melina was called Scout, Trent was called Watchdog, Lena was called Foxtail, Leo was called Whirlwind, and Ellena had recently picked up the code name Lyric.

But their treehouse was more of a practicing place than a home right now simply because they had made themselves into a band for the upcoming school year. They were hoping to perform at something, albeit they didn’t know what just yet. They would do it, though.

There was nothing stopping them from having awful coordination, though.

 

* * *

11:09 A.M., July 23rd, 20YY

_ Report No. One _ _ \- The Multiverse Theory. _

_ It’s a hypothetical set of various possible universes including the universe which we live in. Together, these universes comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, and the physical laws and constants that describe them. The miscellaneous distinct universes within the multiverse are called the “alternate universes”. _

_ In Dublin in 1952, Erwin Schrodinger gave a lecture in which he jocularly warned his audience that what he was about to say might “seem lunatic”. He said that, when his equations seemed to describe several different histories, these were “not alternatives, but all really happen simultaneously”. That is the earliest known reference to the multiverse, other than the American philosopher and psychologist William James using the term multiverse in 1895, but in a different context. _

_ Notice how I said  _ earliest  **known** reference _. Over three hundred years ago, before the monsters were locked beneath the ground, a genius scientist explained this theory of alternate universes to his kind before branching out across the world. The drift between humans and monsters didn’t start there, but that gave motive to the humans that monsters were dangerous and insane, thus having the scientist locked away and pulling at the line that divided humans and monsters a hundred years later. This scientist had explained the structure of the multiverse, the nature of each universe within it, and how the relationships among these universes differ from one multiverse hypothesis to another-- _

“Fate!”

Fate jumped, turning around in the desk chair to look from her notebook towards Chara, who was grabbing their backpack and jogging on the spot, seeming excited about something.

“Toriel’s gonna take us to the mall, come on!” They told her, quickly running out of the room, and Fate let out a sigh as she turned back around to quickly finish up her writing.

_ \--but never got around to proving it. _

_ If only he was here now, then it would be a lot easier to figure out some things. _

 

* * *

The mall was sensory overload, but Frisk and Chara didn’t seem bothered by it, so Fate did her best not to be bothered either. It was harder than she thought because moving through the crowds meant getting closer to other people than she would usually allow, but at least she had Flowey with her for each time she ended up broken off from her family due to so many people crowding her little form.

This place was the same temperature inside no matter what the season was. The light was the same, the scent, the polished floor, the tense faces on the shoppers, and only the piped music and the fashion changed. It was like a candy store: eye candy, gadget candy, ego candy. Every item cost something for the planet to produce, but no one asked if the cost was worth it. Did people really need plastic eyelashes for their car headlamps? Why was it that children needed tons of plastic crap for their brains to develop right? Nonetheless, along she went, just hoping that things could be sorted out quickly so she could get to wander in the bookstore; their last stop of the day.

She managed to stick it out until then and damn, was it worth her time and anxiety.

She had been combing through the bookshelves for books that peaked her interest when she noticed a familiar monster sitting a couple aisles down, sitting in the children’s section and looking extremely uncomfortable. He wore a leather jacket and black jeans, which she found odd for the middle of summer, but then she recognized the rabbit monster from the theme park about a month ago. He was gazing intensely at the kid’s book in his hands, looking to be sweating a bit, and yet she figured it would be a good idea to just go right up to him.

“Hey.” She greeted softly, and he snapped his head up with a scowl as if to scare her off before his expression softened, looking quite apologetic. She searched for something to say and blanked out, not sure what exactly she had been expecting. Flowey was with Frisk so she could carry more books, so she had no backup if this guy was like the people he was with and had just been feeling particularly lovely on the day of the theme park incident. “Um… do you like that book?”

“Y-Yeah, I do!” He responded quickly, seeming just as unprepared for this social encounter as she was, and he started sweating more profusely. “Is there a problem or something!?”

“Uh…” Fate trailed off, feeling herself start to sweat as well. She shook her head while she took a deep breath, though, and gave him a polite smile. “No, not at all. Everyone is at different reading levels and enjoys different things.”

“... My sister really likes it, so I’m trying to like it as well.” He suddenly explained, sounding sheepish, and he paused before patting the spot beside him. He must’ve noticed the strain her arms were taking from carrying the books without having something else to do and she gladly sat down, putting the books aside. “I can’t really… read. English is the one thing I’ve never been good at, pretty much at all, but I wanted to try and figure this one out for her.”

“That’s nice of you.” Fate insisted, but he shrugged a bit, closing the book over and slapping it against his lap. “I’m sure she won’t mind if you can’t.” He let out a sigh.

“No, she won’t care.” He agreed, scratching behind his ears with a frown as he stared down at the book. It was, like… mocking him. “She’s, uh… going into surgery for her lungs later this week. I wanted to read to her, but I… well, I suck at reading, obviously.”

Fate suddenly felt really bad, letting out a wince as she cautiously rested a comforting paw on the rabbit monster’s arm, which he didn’t seem to mind.

“I’m sorry…” She mumbled, but he merely shrugged putting the book back on the shelf before getting back to his feet.

“It’s fine. She’s strong.” He assured her before kneeling down and grabbing a couple of her books. “I’ll help you carry these since you’re so small, kid. My name’s Javis.”

With a slight snort, an introduction from Fate, and a small, indecisive argument over who would carry which books, the pair went into the young adult's section to grab a couple more books before heading off to find Toriel. She seemed a little impressed if not shocked that Fate had made friends with someone so gang-like--not that she knew he was actually in a gang--but merely introduced herself to Javis who returned the honor. She gave Fate the money to pay for the books, in which she and Javis rushed off to do before going to the front of the store, where he split off from the Dreemurr family to go home.

 

* * *

_ Report No. Two _ _ \- The Fallen Children. _

_ As I talked a little about earlier, the relationship between humans and monsters was poisonous, and that’s putting it nicely. After hundreds of years living amongst each other, humans decided to lock the monsters away sometime around the year of 1800, thus beginning a long and odd story. This story happens to be of Mt. Ebott and the fallen children. _

_ I’m not supposed to tell it, but I suppose that someone has to leave behind some sort of records. This story shouldn’t be forgotten and I’ve asked Flowey to help me understand. I don’t think you need to know him to understand this story, nor do you need to know me. _

_ Mirth Winchester, the  _ Mage of Determination _ , didn’t live very long so her family was small, but it thrived, and the most memorable Winchester after Mirth happened to be Merritt. She was born in 1820 and lived on the surface for ten years before mysteriously disappearing and, as you’ve probably guessed by now, she had fallen into the underground. The Winchester’s had evolved into a not-so-kind family and that prompted Merritt to run away, straight to what she believed to be her demise. However, instead of dying, she ended up in the world of monsters. _

_ You may or may not have guessed by now that Merritt just so happens to be known as Chara now and doesn’t have a set gender. Chara died and came back to life, but I’m not supposed to give any details on that. _

_ Fleta Hackney, the  _ Mage of Patience _ , had a great-granddaughter named Adelaide Elizabeth. She was born in 1840 and lived on the surface for six years, but ultimately ended up disappearing during a game of hide-and-seek with her siblings. It was in 1846 that Adi Hackney fell into the underground but only made it past the Ruins. _

_ Creighton Langdon, the  _ Mage of Bravery _ , had a great-great-grandson named Reuben Horace. He was born in 1868 and lived on the surface for eight years before falling into the underground, in the year of 1876. Reuben Horace Langdon only made it through the small town of Snowdin before meeting his demise. _

_ Dallen Clapham, the  _ Mage of Integrity _ , had a great-great-great-granddaughter named Ethel Irene. She was born in 1897 and lived on the surface for nine years before falling into the underground in 1906, and managed to dance all the way to Waterfall. However, that was the furthest Ethel Irene Clapham got. _

_ Gail Emsworth, the  _ Mage of Perseverance _ , had a great-great-great-great grandson named Edwin Jerome. He was born in 1927, lived nine years on the surface, and then fell into the underground in 1936. He also managed to make it all the way to Waterfall, but he never got to experience Hotland for what it was worth. _

_ Paxton Bradley, the  _ Mage of Kindness _ , had a successor named Edward Thomas. Edward was born in 1959, spent only seven years on the surface, and was the second youngest to fall into the underground, doing so in 1966. The young boy made it all the way to Hotland before meeting his demise. _

_ Elden Bradford, the  _ Mage of Justice _ , had a successor named Joseph Dylan. He was born in 1986, lived on the surface for ten years, and then fell into the underground in 1996. He made it all the way to the Core, but that was as far as he got before meeting his demise. His stuff was actually thrown into the dump, but two mischievous monsters decided that they were worth more than just rotting with a bunch of other trash. _

_ The last child to fall was Frisk, with a SOUL of Determination just like Chara. I’m unaware if Frisk is a successor of Mirth or not considering all of the years that have passed, but I feel as if it doesn’t matter too much because Frisk is more than their family line. They freed the monsters from the underground and helped the humans get used to them again, and they freed the six SOULs of the successors. Chara was different, but once again, I can’t talk about that. _

_ What I’m trying to say is that SOULs aren’t merely… well, SOULs. They’re very odd. They’re passed down from generation to generation sometimes and that can make for many different stories. It’s like that with the Multiverse Theory, too. There are different paths for different SOULs, but sometimes that path is laid out for us no matter what we try to do to change it. That’s what fate is and what it does. _

_ Makes for a good joke, considering that I’m writing this, doesn’t it? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Javis is totally not becoming an actual character, not at all. I haven't planned out some storytime for him and his family, not that I've actually given him one, haha.  
> I'm horrible.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed some history. This arc is gonna start off easy-going, but it'll get haywire sooner than later.


	26. Take A Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All that is gold does not glitter; not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither; deep roots are not reached by the frost.
> 
> Or the murders start up again, Toriel is having the time of her damn life, and Fate is just the oddest child at the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof.

10:02 A.M., August 6th, 20YY

“Meet Mr. Godfrey Barnes. He was an accomplished bowler.”

Taryn sighed as Jeremiah passed her the files for the recent murder, staring at the picture of the victim that covered important files full of his information. Even so, Jeremiah had to explain some details as she skimmed through it to read up on the victim, whose remains had left both her and Craig baffled earlier on by being found stuffed into the machinery in a bowling alley. It was ironic that such a big bowling guy had been found, crushed up in bowling machinery, and the only thing making her feel better about it was the fact that he had been dead beforehand.

“Lots of trophies, custom balls. He was also a classic car restorer and dealer, which tells us that he was fastidious, competitive, careful, respectful of design, social, and uh… gregarious.” Jeremiah listed, although he could see how much Taryn really didn’t care about the personality of a dead guy. “And the bowling team name, “Kingpins”--”

Taryn suddenly broke into laughter, throwing the files down on her desk and whipping out her phone as Jeremiah threw his arms into the air, a little frustrated that she wasn’t paying attention.

“That’s funny, actually.” She insisted, sending a text and stuffing her phone into her back pocket as she made her way around her desk. She patted Jeremiah on the chest before going right past him. “Craig and I can handle this for sure, little brother.”

Crossing his arms tightly over his chest, Jeremiah watched his sister go, shaking his head both fondly and in annoyance. She seriously couldn’t share what she had in mind as a plan with him? Rude…

 

* * *

11:00 A.M., August 6th, 20YY

“So, these red flakes, they were embedded in the front of his skull.”

Mitchell watched Abner swab and pick at the flakes around the victim’s skull, putting them in a small sample cup to keep them all together. Meanwhile, the young adult leaned over the bones and tried to find some sort of injury that could lead to the cause of death while also listening to his colleague, which was much harder than it needed to be. He was so ground up that it was tough to determine the cause of death, even as Abner examined the flakes on the computer screen with tests on different paints and things like that.

“The only perimortem injury that I can see is this fracture of the nasal bone.” Mitchell explained to Abner, pointing to said fracture while the older man squinted at the different results of the red flakes. That meant more test to narrow it all down to something that would both make sense and stand on its own while still being relevant to the case. God, they all needed a break…

“Who dies of a broken nose?” Abner finally questioned, leaving the computer to run tests while he knelt down to examine the fracture.

“Exactly!” Mitchell let out in a bit of a snap, throwing his hands up before leaning against the table again. “But if I can’t figure out the cause of death, Craig will toss  **me** into that machine.” Abner paused before nodding and Mitchell frowned at him, crossing his arms over his chest in disappointment. “You’re supposed to say, “No, he’ll understand”.”

“Oh... but he won’t.” Abner stated, and Mitchell groaned, rolling his eyes. He got so frustrated that he smacked his hands against the table, shaking his head and Abner suddenly straightened up, getting an odd look on his face as he motioned towards the skull. “Something… rattled in the skull.”

Mitchell picked up the skull carefully, turning it around, and something did indeed rattled inside of it. Something had dislodged in the enzyme bath, obviously, and Mitchell shook the skull around a bit to get it out When the little pieces of bone finally fell into his hand, he put the skull down and examined the smaller bones before suddenly coming to a realization, holding out the small pieces for Abner to see.

“He  **was** killed by a broken nose!” Mitchell started, putting the pieces down pulling the camera over them so they could examine them closer, on a bigger screen. “When his nose got hit, the force shattered the cribriform plate in the back of his skull. Fragments from his skull literally flew into his brain and that’s how he died!”

“Hey, you guys.” Cathy interrupted, although Mitchell didn’t mind. He was smiling away, proud that he had found the cause of death, and Abner registered what the younger male had said before waving to the brown-haired woman. “Found the cause of death?”

Mitchell nodded frantically, willing to explain again, and Abner quickly rushed away with his computer, leaving Cathy to laugh at his antics.

 

* * *

11:56 A.M., August 6th, 20YY

“Okay. Force equals mass times acceleration. Okay.”

Mitchell went around one of the tables holding multiple bowling balls, all of the different weights because they had to find out what kind of bowling ball could be the murder weapon. Since he was killed at a bowling alley, just a bowling ball wasn’t enough to go on, so the young adult boy had decided on doing this while Liz watched. She really wanted results and was getting beyond impatient.

“To break a nose, you need a very low force with a large mass--say around thirty g’s, or--” Mitchell started to explain, but ultimately stopped, shaking his head and going around the table again. “No, no, no, hmm…”

“This is like watching Poppy do her homework.” Liz insisted as Mitchell scratched his head with his pencil, rewriting all of his calculations before speaking up again.

“Oh, hey!” Mitchell finally let out, snapping his fingers as he came around the table once more. “Because the amount of force it takes to break the victim’s nose is so low, it means that the mass and acceleration must be fairly low as well. So, in fact, any mass over 2.26 kilograms wielded at almost any acceleration would be too much damage. So--”

“Five pounds.” Liz stated, bringing Mitchell to turn around sharply on his heel with a questioning look. She only repeated herself with a little more elaboration. “The ball could not have weighed more than five pounds.”

Abner suddenly came running up the steps, bringing the pair to look at him for the news he obviously brought along.

“Bowling balls don’t flake, they chip.” Abner insisted, in which the pair of coworkers gave him looks of confusion. They didn’t know why that was relevant, but apparently, he was getting around to that. “What else is made of polyurethane and flakes, you ask? Well, the type of polyurethane I found in the skull meets national traffic safety standards. We’re looking for a motorcycle helmet with red sparkles.”

Liz gave a thumbs up while Mitchell merely threw his clipboard aside because he was frustrated with his useless calculations, and the blonde woman merely left the two men alone to make a call to Taryn and Craig.

Looks like it’d be a little easier to find their murderer now.

 

* * *

3:09 P.M., August 6th, 20YY

Being pregnant made things hard, and that was an understatement.

Things were beautiful and wonderful and Toriel was so blessed and privileged to be carrying a life inside of her, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t feeling all the feels. Of course, when she had finally come up with a way to tell the family about a week ago, they had all been either overjoyed or over worried, or both, but right now she just felt over dramatic.

She was making her way up the stairs when she had to take a seat, barely able to breathe all of the sudden, and she swore to God that if Asgore was standing in between her and their bed, he better have some sort of defensive weapon because things would get ugly. She was sleeping as much as she could, but it really wasn’t enough just yet and she was already twenty weeks and three days in. That was about four and half months, but honestly, she had already reached the point of frustration with her changing body.

It wasn’t that she was a different person now that she was pregnant, but she just had extra hormones coursing through her veins--or wherever hormones went--and they were tempting her to lose the grip on her emotions. Every feeling she had was just under the surface and what might have seemed cute or sweet four and a half months ago could turn her into an angry Mother if she wasn’t careful. Also, weird things tended to happen when she wasn’t pregnant, so now that she was, the level of weird had increased tenfold. Not only did she have to get up and go to the bathroom approximately two thousand, three hundred, and forty-six times a night, but her ligaments also stopped working from eleven in the evening to five in the morning, so it took three times as long to get there. She swelled, ached, and sweat. Things doubled in size and changed color, and she couldn’t bother to check if Fate was still up or had woken up every time she heard something from the kitchen.

But this was great. It was wonderful. They had a baby on the way, after all. And God was that Chara yelling out the window  **again** …?

God, she needed a break...

 

* * *

3:09 A.M., August 7th, 20YY

The cold air of the fridge hit Fate’s face as she pulled out her leftover slice of pie from the fridge, smiling fondly as she removed the plastic wrap keeping it fresh and tossed it into the microwave for forty seconds. Another dream had bugged her, so she had decided that some pie might calm her down before she went back to sleep. She was beyond sure that she would be woken up at exactly fifteen minutes past noon by Frisk and Chara to celebrate her birthday and that only made her smile all the more fond, especially as Ebony weaved her way through her ankles followed by Toby.

Ebony was small, Toby wasn’t. It brought forth a fit of quiet giggles before the microwave beeped.

Fate decided that it was more than ominous to have a nightmare on the night, or early morning, of your birthday. Sure, her birthday had always been a troublesome day and this would be her thirteenth, but there was something different about her nightmares now. They had nothing to do with the past or the Abaddon, or the void from what she knew, and she was unsure whether she wanted them to be make-belief or not. Staring at the white wall across from her, her mind began to wander to questions that kind of related to what she had dreamed about.

There had been nothing, but not like the void kind of nothing. Like, just… a plain nothingness of strange white. It was deafeningly silent, no static like the void, but she could hear her footsteps and her breathing. She hadn’t been alone, but that was the weirdest part… she had been followed by someone so much like them that it was… well, whatever. It was over and so was her slice of pie, so she needed to get back to bed.

Making her way up the staircase slowly after putting her dishes in the sink to do later on, with Toby and Ebony following behind quite close as if they could tell something was wrong, the echoing voice from the follower in her dream just made her think more.

_ Please don’t be afraid of me. _ They had said when she first saw them, unable to help herself as she moved into a defensive position. She knew them, but she also didn’t know them, and that made them someone… odd.  _ I know you are confused. _ They had assured quite simply, monotone. They had told her so much and yet, they had told her nothing.

Crawling under the sheets, she curled up with a sign and closed her eyes while Toby and Ebony curled up by her head. She wouldn’t be surprised if Toby had given her this weird dream with the given context of it and what he had already done. Hell, he had made a portal into the past to save Gaster, so she really didn’t know what to think of the… well, he was a dog. He was just a very advanced dog.

_ You will understand in time, as you have to. There is a great danger threatening our multiverse and it must be stopped. _

To Hell, if she knew anything about the multiverse beyond theories, but perhaps she had just thought about it so much that this dream had come to her. After all, why else would a “Great danger” be threatening the uncertain? Dammit, they had been a frustratingly cryptic kid.

_ The answers lie close than you think. _

Turning her head and peeking open an eye to look at the wide-awake and happily panting Toby, who stared straight back, she sighed and rolled over to just go back to sleep. This was set aside for further contemplation at another time.

“Oof!”

And Toby seemed to agree, as he had just assaulted her stomach with enthusiasm.

Happy fucking birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that Fate is thirteen and August had started, it's time for great fun.
> 
> Fun Fact: Taryn finds little things funny.


	27. Wow, This Is Different!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The investigation has begun... kind of.

10:00 A.M., August 10th, 20YY

Fate loved rain and everything about it. She had been born on a rainy day, named after a rainy day because her name change, and had been found by Frisk and Toriel on a rainy day. Ebott got very few rainy days that were actually nice and could be considered legitimate rainy days.

Such as the whispering hum as sheets of precipitation plummeted to the water-forsaken ground, the water droplets falling like they don’t have anything better to do. There would be a laziness to them as if they couldn’t bother to conform to the will of gravity and when she stuck her arm out of the window, the droplets splattered on her outstretched fingers made all the drier by reading in front of the fireplace. The droplets were large and soft, the sound of them on the roof beyond comforting.

The only problem was that, with rainy days like these, something weird always happened in Ebott. It was made apparent by the ominous air that hung about, just waiting for the right moment to bring on the next big dilemma.

That’s why, when Toby happily curled up next to Fate and gave her an innocent stare with his little, beady black eyes, she was not impressed that it followed with a loud rumble that thundered through the house. It had come from the basement and had acted much like an earthquake, shaking everything out of place, and Fate was the first to react. She gave Toby a look, gaining that same innocence in return, before jumping to her feet and rushing to the basement door. However, when she opened it, the stairs had ultimately fallen apart and left her with no choice but to cross her arms and glare at Toby for some kind of answer while the Dreemurr’s freaked out over the situation.

No one was impressed, to say the least.

“What did you do, Toby?” Fate asked softly, kneeling down to get face-to-face with the dog she wasn’t sure of anymore, and he barked back. She gave a frown and that brought forth a reply.

“ **_It was not me._ ** ” Was all he had to say and somehow, for some reason, his tone told her that he had actually not done anything. “ **_But I have a feeling. Don’t go down there, no matter what._ ** ”

“So, is someone gonna go down to check it out?” Chara suddenly asked, right on cue as if they were arguing with Toby except for the fact that they didn’t know what he was saying to Fate.

They all had no idea what the noise was because it didn’t sound like an explosion, but it honestly could’ve been… perhaps. The only way they would know for sure was for them to check it out themselves.

_ Well, not Mom. She’s not fit for it at the moment. _ Frisk told Chara, who nodded in agreement, and Fate looked over her shoulder at Toriel and Asgore who were talking quietly about something.  _ Not me because I don’t really want to without Mom’s permission. _ Chara looked at Fate, who paused before giving a shrug.

“Go for it, sib.” Chara suddenly insisted, in which Fate crossed her arms tightly over her chest in disbelief. Really? Volunteering her without her permission!? That was so rude! No way was she going to do it!

… Well, that’s kinda how she ended up hanging from the ledge where the top of a staircase used to be, with a fluffy white dog on her head and being lowered down as much as possible by her two siblings. Both her and Toby were nervous beyond belief, but they were already going down, so they might as well see it through. When Fate had been lowered as far as possible, she simply let go of Chara and Frisk’s hand falling to the ground below that luckily wasn’t too far. Toby had managed to stay with her, keeping her straw hat tightly on her head, and he took comfort in deciding to get held in her arms instead of staying on top.

The investigation had begun, kind of.

The basement was constructed from concrete much like the house was, but its walls were thicker than a medieval castle that kept it useful for gaming with Chara. However, what had once been the coolest basement of all time was now an odd space full of nothing, except for a very suspiciously placed pocket watch in the middle of the room. She and Toby didn’t bother to exchange glances because they knew that this was stupid. There was no way that they were gonna--

Okay, so Fate decided that it couldn’t be any more harmful than a butter knife and picked it up, big whoop. Don’t sue the curious teen--wow, teen, that’s odd to say--for her curious ways.

She held the pocket watch up to the light, examining the unique designs scattered on it, before pressing the button on the top so the front cover would click open to reveal the inside. It definitely wasn’t a clock and didn’t look anything like either of them had expected. It was hard to describe because it seemed very technical, but along the outer edges were small hearts that represented the eight SOULs: White, Cyan, Orange, Blue, Purple, Green, Yellow, and Red.

She wasn’t going to touch anything on it until she knew what it was… except for running her thumb along the hearts representing the SOULs because she was curious about what they were made of, but that was the wrong move on her part. Toby barked and before she knew it, the endless white space from her dream had flashed beyond her eyes before she was suddenly thrown into snow on the other side, bringing her to shiver from how cold it suddenly got.

Dammit, she had been lounging around in shorts and a thin sweater when this all happened, not to mention her hat because she enjoyed having it with her. What the Hell was this…? She had no idea where she was and was quite sure that she would freeze to death if she didn’t figure it out soon, and Toby was being exceptionally quiet all of the sudden.

“One moment I’m in my bedroom and the next I’m in the past. Now it’s that I was in my basement and now I’m somewhere in the world, in the snow!” She complained to herself as she started to walk, cringing from how wet her socks were getting. “I can’t catch a break. I swear to God, if I get into some kind of fight, I will  **knock** my opponent out quicker than they can say--”

She tripped over a rock and went face-first into the snow. Toby just barely saved himself by wiggling out of her arms, and he wagged her tail when she looked up with a very unimpressed expression. She was surprised that she wasn’t panicking or crying, but she still got back on her feet quickly just to take a deep breath and a look around. Where was she, honestly? She was starting to get a headache from the cold… or perhaps from something else…

“Toby, you actually brought her!”

Fate snapped around, turning her heel sharply in the snow and bending her knees down while throwing up her little fists because she didn’t recognize the voice. Well, it sounded familiar, but she didn’t want to take any chances… until she saw who it came from, and Toby took a pleasant seat in the snow with a cheeky smile that made her want to just pick him up and throw him. He  **was** responsible for this! Letting down her defenses, she instead gave the dog a very disappointed look and crossed her arms tightly over her chest before a hand was suddenly shoved in her face.

This was so weird. This guy was… Sans, but not?

“Don’t be mad at Toby; I’m the one who asked him to bring you here!” The skeleton insisted, and Fate could only really focused on how he was slightly shorter than the actual Sans. “You can call me Ink! I’m sort of Sans, but I’m from another universe, which I’m sure you’ve been thinking about the multiverse theory lately anyways. I’m here to tell you: it’s not a theory!”

Oh, my God, she was so confused and a little angry.

Examining this… “Ink”, he had black paint on his right cheek and wore Sans’ jacket around his hips. He wore a kind of brown vest overtop of a white, quarter-sleeved or so shirt with blue lines; “a protector” was on said shirt, attached to his chest. He wore a giant, brown scarf which was almost as big as him and had a work belt crossing his chest, full of rainbow paint vials with had heart-shaped tops. He wore pants that had the same color scheme as his sleeves and upon the pats, he wore light brown shorts. Instead of slippers, he wore sports shoes with a tiger print on the sides, also sporting fingerless gloves and a giant paintbrush on his back.

She couldn’t make this up if she tried, but she wasn’t a rude person, so she cautiously kind of… slapped her hand into his palm. She still didn’t under handshakes too well and he seemed to understand that, brightening up at the fact that she was real and in-person.

“Wow, you’re probably so confused!” He laughed, and she had to admit that she indeed was. Upon seeing her nod, he got more ecstatic. “Let me explain!”

She listened closely despite freezing her ass off and being beyond worried about where she was, and how she was going to get back. Were the Dreemurr’s worried about her? She kind of hoped so but also hoped that Toriel wasn’t stressing out because the stress was bad for the baby.

“I am Ink Sans, a Sans who exists outside of the timelines to help aid artists in the creations of new alternate universes. Despite aiding creators, I don’t create universe myself, only characters and things within them. I’m capable of drawing anything and bringing it to life, outside of already deceased people.” He started to explain as if it was the most obvious and normal thing ever, in which she simply stared and kneeled down, curling up into her thin sweater. This was insane, but if this guy could tell her how to get home, she would listen. “I live off the creativity of artists and am also the Protector of the Imagination--and of all the alternate universes! It’s a big job, so I live in a parallel world which I like to call “The Doodle Sphere”, and I visit the universes to check on inhabitants. So imagine my surprise when one of the universes had a glitch!”

She wanted to wake up from this weird dream and live out her days as some dumb teen with a fucked up past. She was done with all the shit Ebott decided to throw at her--wait, not just Ebott, but the entire world! Apparently, now it was the entire universe and then some!

“Your universe was one I wasn’t aware of!” Ink told her with a laugh as if it was funny. “It’s a Classic Pacifist universe, I believed, but then I took a closer look. It’s connected with timelines that shouldn’t have existed, carrying events that shouldn’t have existed with people that shouldn’t have existed. Your universe--we can call it “Fateverse” if you’d like--is the only universe where Pheofrash exist; the only one where you exist! You weren’t supposed to exist, but you do, which is  **amazing** !”

There was a very deep, long silence before Fate stood up straight, frowning at the skeleton in front of her with a very confused and upset look.

“... What do you mean I wasn’t supposed to exist…?” She questioned, her voice cracking a bit as she wrapped her arms around herself, mostly from the cold. Toby wound herself around her leg, but it really didn’t make her feel better.

“Well, it’s just that.” Ink replied simply, shrugging a bit without noticing just how much effect his words were having. “It’s the Classic timeline, but it’s been so messed up with a bunch of things that it’s like I’ve done a bad job.” He raised a hand to his chin. “But it’s not like I’m gonna erase your universe or anything since I’m the protector of universes and all! I’m actually just quite interested in the fact that at one moment, things were normal, and in the next, bam: Pheofrash! The  **Abaddon** \--oh, that’s exciting, too! Hey, maybe-- **_whoa, are you crying_ ** !?”

Fate was indeed doing just that. The tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down her cheeks, and the muscles in her chin trembled like a small child as she stared down at the snow in shame. There was static in her head, a side effect of the stress this had suddenly put her under, and she could hear herself sounding like a distressed child, raw from the inside, but she couldn’t care less.

“Whoa, sorry, I didn’t mean to be harsh or anything!” Ink apologized, scratching at the back of his skull sheepishly. “It… was quite harsh, I know, and I’m sorry for that, but I, uh… it was because I need you to understand the situation so I can ask for help?”

There was a moment of silence, only broken through by Fate’s hiccups as she tried to calm down before the young girl could finally talk steadily.

“... H-Help with what…?” She managed to get out quite steadily, rubbing her eyes to get rid of the tears that wouldn’t stop just yet, and Ink laughed nervously for multiple reasons.

“Well, uh…” He trailed off as he placed his hands on his hips, looking to sweat a bit. “The alternate universes are… well, kinda in danger, and they need help.”

He paused to let her gather herself now that she sort of knew that he needed a serious conversation with her, in which she went as quick as she could to get the tears to stop and to gather her thoughts. With a deep breath, she focused on the supposed situation and gave the odd skeleton a nod to continue, in which he did.

“I don’t know what did it, or who perhaps, but we’re pretty much on an odyssey through the multiverse, trying to figure out who the Hell did it.” Ink explained as he started walking, motioning for her to follow him, in which she did despite being unable to feel her toes. “Someone else is critically damaging different universes for whatever reason, so we need to find them.”

“... I don’t see why you can’t just do it without my help. I have a life, you know.” Fate told him, in which he let out a sigh while giving her a nod.

“I know, but that life is being targeted by whoever is doing this, just like all the other universes. I’m gathering helpers, but so far there’s just three of us, so I asked Toby to bring you here because of your… lifestyle.” He hesitated to say, sheepishly rubbing his neck before actually explaining. “It’s summer vacation, nothing too big is going on, and you’re the only Fate to exist in every universe out there--and there’s a lot! But it’s not just because you’re the only existing you, but because you can move through time and space without getting messed up, which is a good thing. It’s useful and it can be helpful if you’d help out…?”

There was a very long pause, one too long and uncomfortable for Ink’s liking, so he decided to give some initiative.

“I’ll do you one favor, no matter what it is, if you just help me out with this.” He insisted, and Fate suddenly started thinking for real, which made him sugarcoat it. “Any favor at all! I’m sure that I can do it, but… only one, so we don’t cheat and mess up any universes, got it? Still though, anything!”

There was another long pause as Fate stared down at Toby, who stared back up at her, and both of their expressions were neutral and unreadable. After a while, Fate finally took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh slapping her paws over her face before clasping them together in defeat.

“One favor, no matter what, and I’ll help you, Ink.” She decided, in which he got really excited, jumping up and down and cheering for his victory. “Also, uh---” He froze, wondering what she wanted, and she gave a small shrug. “... Can I go home first? Y’know, change my clothes and talk to my family?”

“You make it sound like you’re gonna die at war, which may or may not happen.” Ink told her, but she merely shrugged in response, giving a bit of a fond smile. Nonetheless, he gave a nod. “Toby’ll bring you home, but at midnight, I need ya back here so we can start, alright?” Fate gave a stiff nod. “Okay away you go!”

In less than a minute, Fate was back in the basement, but it wasn’t dull like before. It was the coolest basement ever again, except a little roughed up to seem believable that something had actually happened. Fate could feel the pocket watch in one of her pockets and Toby nudged his head into her leg to gather her attention, in which she looked ahead to see Chara and Frisk coming down into the basement the same way she did, sort of.

“Nothing is broken, is it?” Chara questioned, both them and Frisk completely unaware that something had happened and Fate held her breath for a moment before breathing in deeply, shaking her head frantically. Nothing was broken, just messed up a bit. Chara sighed in relief. “Good! It took so long to get everything together and set up, so we just gotta fix the display!”

While Chara went past her to do just that, Frisk seemed to notice that something was up, in which they made eye contact with Fate to question her. She simply smiled the best she could at the moment in response, giving her sibling a reassuring nod that they didn’t really buy, and Frisk decided to go help Chara instead of interrogating Fate.

The poor little girl wanted to tell them everything, but she wasn’t sure how to.

 

* * *

12:00 A.M., August 11th, 20YY

Regret washed over Fate like the long, slow waves on a shallow beach as she pulled a full backpack out from underneath her bed. She longed to go back and take some sort of different path, but now that was impossible, so she simply got up with Toby and got ready. The rain outside was so slick on the ground, so dark as to only be seen by reflected street-lamps, and the sky was a painting in a million shades of gray. Just when she believed that she was ready to go, a voice spoke up.

“Where are you going?”

Out of all people to wake up, it had been Flowey. The regret was deafening now, but she told him the truth anyway. Someone deserved to know.

“... There’s a threat to the multiverse, and I’ve been asked to help.” She responded softly, tugging at her short sleeves with a frown, and the potted plant gave her a small glare.

“Why aren’t you taking me with you?” He questioned, in which she tilted her head a bit in confusion, causing him to roll his eyes. “I helped with the Gaster, why can’t I help with this?”

She paused before giving a shrug, looking down at Toby, but the dog had decided to take a nap while she talked with her friend. Helpful of him…

“I… don’t think that I’m allowed to.” She replied, but Flowey rolled his eyes again. “... Why do you want to help out anyway?” Flowey groaned, waving his leaves around angrily.

“Because I don’t want to hang around here without you, especially if you’re doing something dangerous!” He hissed, fighting to keep his voice down so Frisk and Chara didn’t wake up. “We’re buddies or pals or something, right? We do things  **together** , not apart!”

Fate stared at him for a moment before a fond smile broke out across her face and she stepped forward, grabbing Flowey’s pot tightly. He usually said that he didn’t care, but she was quite sure that this was just his way of showing it.

“Alright… we can try it, but you have to be on your best behavior.” She advised, in which Flowey huffed and crossed a leaf over his stem to promise her that he would do his best.

Fate woke up Toby, who really hadn’t been asleep the entire time, and he opened up a portal for them to head out. It took a while of Fate hesitating and taking a look around the room a couple of times before she finally went through, only able to hope for the best. As she followed Toby through a strange, white hallway, she reminded herself that she couldn’t go changing the rules of the multiverse just because she didn’t like how things were shaped. The rules were there for good reasons, even if the favor she wanted to be carried through was a bit of a… push. It wasn’t against the rules, it was simply pushing at them a little bit, and it wasn’t as if she was bending them or anything.

God, she was thirteen, not thirty-one. She shouldn’t have to worry about big, world-related things and yet, here she was.

“ **Hey** !”

Fate whipped around to find the owner of the voice only to look down at Toby for help, who merely fell over and pretended to nap again. She looked back up and lifted a paw to her forehead, rubbing it to try and make her sudden headache go away. They had to be kidding…

“Where do you think you’re going without us!?” Chara questioned with a bit of a snap, rushing towards their younger sibling with Frisk following closely behind them. “I don’t care if it’s some sort of alternate universe mumbo-jumbo crap; you don’t get to disappear on us again!”

_ I left a note for Mom and Dad. They’ll be okay. _ Frisk assured her with a calm smile as they did their best to keep up with Chara.  _ We wanna help. If the multiverse is in trouble, then messing up a couple of things by having us around couldn’t possibly be too bad! _

“So, you wanna explain the situation?” Flowey questioned with a cheeky smile, and Fate took a long, deep breath before finally deciding to just deal with it. She wasn’t allowed to get rid of these three, so she would just have to go with whatever came up.

This was going to be a **long** journey…


	28. Shit Gets Real

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, uh... who's ready to explore the Multiverse!?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having a hard time. It's been that way lately and I'm sorry for slow updates and all, but hey! I got something for y'all!

12:29 A.M., August 11th, 20YY … although, that doesn’t really matter.

It hadn’t taken all too long for Fate to explain what she knew of the situation, and for Toby to lead them into a timeline where Ink was waiting. He wasn’t all too happy that Flowey, Frisk, and Chara insisted on helping, but he also didn’t seem all too surprised. In fact, it was almost as if he had been counting on it, although he didn’t say anything about that. He was actually accompanied by a child who was quite familiar to all of them for different reasons, in which one of those reasons for Fate was that this kid had been the first one to approach her about the trouble throughout the multiverse.

The child looked a lot like Frisk, though they were completely monochrome in color and their eyes were simply black sockets. It was quite unnerving, but none of them allowed it to bother them all too much when the child had introduced themselves as Core, explaining that they were a Frisk who could travel between timelines and universes. They were also far too psychological for the kids, who didn’t really know how to register all of their words about the long journey ahead of them with many untold dangers and encounters to be made. But most of all…

_ You will learn new things about yourselves and each other. Things you didn’t understand before, whether you want to or not. _

They didn’t like the sound of that but were as ready as they could be. Sometimes, you just needed a friend to give you a good punch in the face in order to get motivated, but luckily no punches had to be thrown around. The only things they needed to be aware of with fighting was that, throughout the multiverse, some places had no stat system, as well as turns, being irrelevant and ignored. While most universes had those things, places between them and their timelines were much less restrictive and much freer. The goal was to win over other universes to keep them safe and once they established a connection, Ink would come find them.

“Got that?” Ink questioned, in which they all nodded, although Toby continued napping behind Fate’s feet and Flowey was still registering everything. “Tell me the three ways you can win over a universe and we’ll send you on your way.”

_ One: Help a universe complete a True Pacifist Route, and if it already had, make sure nothing tries to disrupt or destroy it. _ Frisk started before turning to Chara, who rubbed at the back of their neck a bit before speaking up.

“Two: Thwart a Genocide Route in progress and do our best to repair the damage. Some universes could be very troublesome and if we come across a certain one that’s impossible to help, you’ll come get us.” They explained before pushing Fate’s straw hat over her eyes, bringing her to squeak before reaching up to fix it.

“Three: It’s highly unlikely, but if it comes up, then we better be prepared to fight. In a situation that we’ll know of, it will be the only method in which an easy victory is impossible.” She finished, gaining a proud nod from Ink. “So… where are we going first?”

“Ah, well, Toby!” Ink addressed the dog, who peeked an eye open upon hearing his name. “Find a universes that’s most at risk of falling into corruption and take our little group there! Their mission has begun!”

Toby let out a long yawn before getting onto his four little feet and barking in agreement. He seemed to take a moment to search before opening a portal to somewhere, in which the group split up to do their jobs with hopeful goodbyes.

They were all filled with anxiety.

 

* * *

Fate woke up after a rather unsettling trip through time and space. Ink had warned the group that the trip would be bumpy, but that was… incredibly uncomfortable. She resisted the urge to throw up as she got to her feet with a groan, grabbing her hat off the ground and placing it back on her head, she looked around to find out where she was… and who wasn’t with her. The only person she had with her just happened to be the white dog who got her here, which meant that her siblings and her friend in a potted plant were out there somewhere, in an unknown universe.

Core said that this was a possibility, but they hadn’t been sure if it would happen or not.

Nonetheless, Fate’s first mini-goal was to find her team in this new universe despite how different it felt. This place was just as snowy as the place she and Ink had first met, but now the she knew it was the underground, she considered it by its name: Snowdin.

“ **_All monsters must leave the underground alive._ ** ” Toby reminded her as they walked along, in which she gave a nod in understanding. She knew that, but right now, all she could really think of was finding Frisk, Chara and Flowey.

Although, she was thinking about how glad she was to be in the snow with mostly warm clothing on. Sure, her t-shirt wasn’t exactly warm, but her sweater dress and her leggings definitely were, and boots worked much better in the snow than socks did. Nonetheless, she just happened to be doing her very worst in this universe. She couldn’t see anyone and had absolutely no idea what to do except to keep going forward, which was taking forever. It was just… ugh, how could she even describe it? It was kind of impossible to describe.

“WeLl, WeLl, WeLl, LoOk At ThIs. It’S a ReNeGaDe bRaT aNd HeR lAw-BrEaKiNg DoG.”

Upon hearing an unusual voice, Fate whipped around on her heel to face the owner of it only to find herself surprised, and not only at the fact that Toby was growling because he never did that, but also because of the guy’s appearance. He looked a lot like Sans, but he wore a black hoodie overtop of a red shirt and blue shorts with blue stripes down the sides of them. His bones were ivory black, on his cheekbones there were blue streams going down his face in separate lines, and his legs were red along with his slippers. His left pupil was just a single white dot while around it was ivory black, and his right pupil was a big yellow dot with a smaller blue dot in it and then a tiny black dot in the middle, around it being ivory black as well. The tips of the phalanges were yellow, then red on another part.

“ **_That’s Fate and Toby to you, Error_ ** !” Toby snapped unexpectedly, bringing Fate to believe that even if this was a different version of Sans, he wasn’t a good version of her uncle-like friend.

“In AnY cAsE, yOu GoTtA rEaLiZe ThAt WhAt YoU’rE dOiNg Is ChEaTiNg. EvEn If YoU’rE tRyInG tO pRoTeCt AlL oF tHeSe DiRtY gLiTcHeS fRoM dEsTrUcTiOn, It’S sTiLl ChEaTiNg.” The alternate Sans, supposedly Error, insisted, in which Fate really didn’t want to hear that because that told her that he definitely had something to do with the danger to the multiverse. “In AnY cAsE, I GoTtA eRaSe YoU tRoUbLeSoMe BrAtS. HoPe YoU’rE pRoUd Of YoUr ActIoNs, KiDdO!”

Error chuckled darkly as he spread his hands, blue threads shooting out towards the pair and catching Fate fairly off-guard. Luckily, Toby had barked and made a portal, efficiently using it as a shield against the strings, which brought Error to step back a few feet. He was bubbling with irritation.

“DaMmIt! WhY cAn’T yOu JuSt PuT aSiDe YoUr ReSiStAnCe!? SiNcE wHeN dId YoU gRoW a SpInE!?” He snapped, but Fate immediately took on a defensive stance when he lifted his hands as if to try again. “WhAtEvEr! I’lL mAkE sUrE tHaT yOu ReGrEt LiViNg!”

Fate honestly hoped that Chara, Frisk, and Flowey were all having a much better time than she was.

 

* * *

Chara wanted to slap themselves for doing something so close to suicidal, which was a little off because they had just woken up a moment ago and hadn’t done anything worth being scolded for. They examined their surroundings as they continued getting onto their feet, letting out a sigh when they realized that they had definitely been dropping off in some dark version of Waterfall.

They also had no idea where Frisk, Fate, Flowey, or Toby were, despite knowing that it had been likely they would end up in different places due to this being their first try. They let out another sigh, rubbing at the back of their neck as they stretched out their legs and back, knowing that they should get a move on in searching for their siblings and… well, their dog and their sentient flower that just so happened to be their siblings in another form.

God, their life was so confusing…

“God… starting off all by myself, huh? That’s just great…” They complained, taking another look around the area they had woke up in. They took a swift turn around on their heel-- “ **Whoa** !”

Only to find a young Frisk with a red and black striped shirt standing behind them, with Flowey in a boot and being held in their arms. However, this Flowey lacked the sadistic aura of the Flowey from their world and the whole situation just got more confusing as they brushed their hair back a bit, giving a concerned look to the younger Frisk who was of this world. Right… some of the universes were still experiencing the time underground before Frisk freed them. That made this both a little easier and a little harder in many different ways. Also the fact that, well--

“Ch-Chara…?” Flowey stuttered out, looking exceptionally both afraid and relieved. “B-But you’re…” Oh, God, this was a disaster already…

Chara thought about the situation they were in, the risk they were placed in, and how they had to proceed to approach it with extreme caution and care. They weren’t prepared to respond to  **this** , even though they should’ve known that it would happen. Great start! Hopefully the others were doing much better, but still, even though they were sweating from the panic of this situation, they had to make a sense of what was happening and what had to happen. Their mission had literally just started and it sucked ass.

“Who are you…?” The younger Frisk asked, looking much calmer than their flower friend, and Chara took a deep breath, thinking about it for a moment. It should’ve been an easy question, really… hey, at least they weren’t meeting up with their parents first, right? Haha… okay, no, Asriel in Flowey form was much harder to approach, no matter what universe.

They wouldn’t make any progress in this world by lying, so they decided to give the truth and hope that they were lucky.

“I  **am** Chara.” They started, noticing that Flowey went a little stiff, in which they quickly continued to talk. “But I’m not from here. I, uh… wow, this is gonna be hard to believe, but I’m actually from an alternate universe. I’m only here with my two siblings and our, uh… pets… because we’re kinda on a mission to save the universes and to do that, we need to help you on your journey.”

Wow… that couldn’t have been any more suspicious, but the younger Frisk gave Chara a very slow examination before nodding in response, speaking up with a simple response.

“Okay. Nice to meet you, Chara from another universe.” They greeted, and Chara could’ve sworn that they and Flowey had both choked at the same exact time. How could this kid trust them so easily!? Then again, this was another version of Frisk…

“I, uh… yah, nice to meet you as well.”

This was going to take quite a while, wasn’t it…?

 

* * *

Fate had proceeded from pure defense to… well, running away, no matter how far she and Toby had to go to try and escape Error. Every time she slowed down, he’d appear again, and she was getting beyond tired. Everything had started to slowly become gray and freeze up, which was what she and her siblings were trying to avoid from the start, and that meant that they were already failing the job that Ink had given them. Hell, she was failing herself, her legs were completely ready to give out from running so far!

“YoU cAn RuN bUt YoU cAn’T hIdE!” Error called out, his voice echoing off of the walls of Waterfall, and Fate made a split-second decision to dive into some tall grass, pressed against a rock with Toby following right behind her. She just… couldn’t run anymore. It was too much. “CoMe OuT yOu LiTtLe BrAt--YoU aNd YoUr DoG! YoU hAvE nO pLaCe In AnY uNiVeRsE, yOu DiRtY gLiTcH!”

How big was the Underground again? She was currently in Waterfall, so to reach the barrier, she… would have to go through Hotland and the Core after getting through Waterfall. She was thankful that there was a lot of room for an entire race down here, but she also felt cursed by how long and complicated the paths were. She didn’t have time to memorize them--Hell, she didn’t have time for much! She couldn’t even breathe with Error so close by!

_ We need some sort of distraction. _ Fate signed to Toby, trying to the rustle the tall grass as she moved her hands and arms about.  _ Something to just… get him off our trail, but he’s not stupid. _

Suddenly, there was loud boom in the distance, causing the ground and the walls to shake from its intensity. When it calmed down, it was merely followed by another, and Fate had to refrain from letting out a squeak from the powerful rumbles that were throwing off her balance.

“So… OnE oF tHe OtHeR bRaTs HaS sTaRtEd A rUcKuS wItH tHe AsGoRe Of ThIs WoRlD…”

With that, Error’s presence disappeared, and Fate was able to relax for a moment before quickly getting to her feet and taking off again. She really hoped that Chara wasn’t the one who had gotten into a fight, but then again, she didn’t want Frisk to be facing off with the King of this dangerous world…

 

* * *

Frisk was normally a very patient person, especially when Flowey was around because they wanted to be an example for him. Sometimes that patience could cost them more than what was expected, including their hesitance and unwillingness to submit to violence when it was necessary could sometimes do more harm than good. Specifically with humans instead of monsters, but…

Speaking with the Asgore of this world for merely five minutes was more than enough to wear down their usually very low temper, saying something they shouldn’t have and accidentally prompting the King to fight. This Asgore truly had the appearance of a beast, looking like his counterpart aside from how his armor was dirty, his eyes crimson red, and his mane being pitch black instead of pure gold.

“Impudent.” The counterpart of Asgore insulted, and Frisk held Flowey close, preparing themself for the King’s next move. Stuck in an awful universe or not, they would show mercy! “If you don’t like the way things work here, then leave and never return. This Kingdom is mine to rule.”

“You forced this Kingdom into anarchy and fear! That’s not how a King should rule!” Flowey snapped, growling through gritted teeth.

Frisk gave a steady nod in agreement, their bangs shadowing the glare from their reddish-brown eyes as they spoke up to the King, despite talking was getting them nowhere. They only had one more thing to say before the fight continued, so they made it count.

“ _It’s time someone overthrew you_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. That's fun.
> 
> P.S. - The OC contest is still open. It'll be open this whole arc. ;0


	29. A/N

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi.

**Hey, uhhh... it's been awhile, y'all!**

**First off, let me say that I'm so sorry for leaving y'all behind with literally nothing. I just... disappeared with no warning and I honestly feel so bad for doing that. The reasons why are.. not simple. I had some mental breakdowns, some physical injuries, and I've been dealing with school. I've also been struggling with past trauma and I didn't want to write this story without being at 100% or _absolutely_ wanting to write it. Again, I'm very sorry for not updating y'all about such things. I wasn't really sure how to, if that makes any sense.**

**Now for the hard part, in my opinion.**

**I, uh... I kind of want to rewrite this series. AND I KNOW, AGAIN!? But, seriously, I just... want to. There's so much I could expand on and so much I could write that I feel I missed out on. I'm kind of asking permission from you guys, but at the same time, I think it's just something I'm gonna do. Y'all with OCs, don't panic; I'll be carrying the OCs over to the rewrites (if that's okay with you). If there's any stigma or if you're just... bored, I understand.**

**In any case, I hope to be back soon, whether with a continuation or a rewrite. More likely a rewrite, but y'know... I hope there's no inconvenience and, if there is, I'm very sorry for it. I don't mean to make this such a hard thing, but I've been having a lot of issues with my writing lately and I think a rewrite is all I can really give.**

**Talk to you later, y'all. Again, I'm very sorry, and I hope you're okay with this.**


	30. A/N: soooooooo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sO

**SO I'VE DECIDED ON WHETHER TO REWRITE THIS SERIES OR NOT**

**...**

**And yeah, I'm gonna do it.**

**I have such great ideas that I really want to try and carry through with, plus I'm being highly critical of my work lately, so it might take awhile before I finally publish it. However, I will be rewriting it.**

**Although it will be different (quite), it'll still be somewhat the same and your OCs will be carried over along with some ideas from this series, although not a lot (at least, I don't think so, but I don't know just yet).**

**In any case, I am again very sorry for this, but I promise that I'll do my best not to let you all down with the rewrite. I am very excited and very anxious and very inspired to do this rewrite, and I hope very much to see you all when I publish it.**

**I'll still be replying to comments and all in the meantime, if you have some questions or whatever may come up.**

**I'll see you all later, hopefully soon!!**

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this, please leave a Kudo or even a comment with your thoughts! I love talking to people online and I love prediction + feedback comments because they help me out a lot!!


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